Everyday someone loses someone that they love. We know that they are in a better place, but does it ever get better? Do we ever really get over the loss, that emptiness that we feel? Do we ever really move on, or do we put a smile on our face from day to day so that the world will not see our pain? Does it ever get better? Does our heats really mend? Do they ever beat the same? Do we ever stop crying because we miss that person? I am one to say that the answer is ,”NO!” We are never the same,things are never the same, and we never stop missing that person. Holidays are the worst, birthdays, family gatherings, and all of the things that family does together, because that special loved one is not there.

We try to feel good, but that feeling of absence is there. There may be a song that is playing that triggers a memory, a smell, their favorite color, or a favorite chair where they once sat. There are a lot of things that could bring back the pain of loss. Does it ever get better? We can’t get better on our own, but God helps us get through those times of sorrow. He can mend our hearts, fill that empty space with His love. He will comfort us and carry us in His arms when we feel we cannot go on. He wipes our tears away and puts a smile on our face. He gives us joy as to where sorrow was, and He sings to our spirit that we may sing back to Him.

I know that letting go of the ones we lose is hard, even though they cannot come to us, we can go to them someday. Yes, tears will fall, but through it all we learn to completely let go that we may move on with our lives. But the question still remains, does it ever get better?

There are so many kinds of music videos because there are many kinds of different music. What are your favorite music videos? There is Old School, New School, Rap, Gangstar Rap, R&B, Inspirational, Soul Music, Blues, Pop, Rock, Heavy Metal, Funk, Opera, and the list goes on and on. What kind of music sets the tone for your morning, evening, and night? What is your favorite music that makes you want to party all night until the next day?

I like listening to Jazz when I am driving because it is stress-free music, and there is no profanity in it, as it is in other music, but I am not judging. Everyone has that certain type of music that they like to drive to. In the mornings, I like to listen to my favorite inspirational music while I am drinking my coffee, cleaning, and reading the Word for today that gets me going. What kind of music do you like to listen to that starts your day off right?

Music Videos

Back in the Day

Back in the day before we had cell phones with apps of every kind, we would have to have a cable box to watch other programs on television and one of those other programs were the late-night programs that came on after everything else went off, and those were the videos that adults would watch that showed stuff that was not suitable for children to watch. There was not a button to push to monitor what was being seen, so as parents, they would take a chance to watch those programs hoping that the children were asleep for the night. Now we do not have to any longer worry about that sort of thing. There are all kinds of apps that can be downloaded to monitor what our children are watching and doing on their phones.

What are your thoughts on this subject? How do you feel about it? Are things better today? Were things better back in the day? I want to know your thoughts and opinions. There are a lot of good music videos that can be watched by all ages. Keep listening to your favorite music and watching the favorite videos that make you all happy.

I enjoy listening to inspirational music. It helps to calm my soul whenever I have gone through something that has really hurt my spirit. I can always find that one song that speaks to my heart that brings me joy in the midst of my circumstances. God always knows what to lead me to whenever I need to hear that perfect song. I have come to the realization that God also speaks to me through the music that I listen to, and He also shows me where to go to find it in His Word. I mostly listen to my playlist where I have all of my favorite inspirational music. I also listen for new music on the radio so I can add it to my playlist. I often tell my daughter when I hear something new, I see where they got the title from, or I just taught Bible Study on that particular subject. God is always showing me new things and giving me new things to write about.

https://www.google.com/search?q=inspirational+music+by+toby+mac&rlz=1C1DVJR_enUS699US699&oq=inspirational+music+by+toby+mac&aqs=chrome..69i57j33l2.28778j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I love listening to all of the new artists, and those that came before them. When you feel like the whole world is sitting on your shoulders, listen to some inspirational music, it always helps me to release whatever hurts I have inside of me at the feet of Jesus Christ, my personal Lord and Savior.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvxWyn4rfcI2H9APhfUIB1Q

https:www.youtube.com/channel/UCvxWyn4rcfI2H9APhfUIB1Q

This is a message given by Mrs. Victoria Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston Texas. The message is very uplifting. She tells us how we should live together in unity. She tells us about having peace in our family when we work together in unity. Where unity and peace is, there is a blessing. We may miss that blessing when we want to give into our flesh. We are to know that together we can stand and be strong, it is when we are apart that we fall. It gives the enemy a door to come in and keep us apart. We keep the unity through the bond of peace. Where peace is, there is power. We can agree to disagree about things, and still live in peace.

Psalm 133:1-3- How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the head, running down on Aaron’s beard; down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forever more.(Holy Bible)

If you do not have the You Tube App, it can be downloaded from the play store on Google, and on your Apple devices. There is a wealth of sermons from Pastor Osteen. You can also subscribe to their channel as well.

The address is 5440 NW Central Dr. STE 270, Houston, TX. 77092 Phone: (713)635-4154. They can be followed on Instagram, Twitter, You Tube, and LinkedIN. More information can be found on Wikipedia about the church.

For many years now, we have watched Lakewood Church on TBN. Just listening to the sermons has brought me through a lot of things that I never thought I would get through. I enjoy how we are always reminded about how God sees us, and how much He loves us. The messages are always focused on encouragement and helping us to stay in faith even though things are not going the way we want them to go. Things happen that are out of our control on a daily basis; we cannot do anything in our own power, but God can, and that is when we must have faith in God, and trust in God to turn those things around for our good that Satan is trying to use to harm us. Our carnal minds tells us that things will never get better, but that is when we have to cast down those thoughts, because thoughts of that nature only comes from the enemy. We must never forget that the enemy only comes to steal, kill and destroy. He is a liar, have been from the beginning, and he is the father of all lies; if there is ever anything heard and you know it is not the truth, you know that it came from the enemy. He does not want peace anywhere. He is the one that wreaks havoc in this world. He walks up and down in this world like a roaring lion seeking who He can devour.

When there is peace in the home, there is no room for him to come in and start trouble. Peace-Freedom from disturbance; tranquility. Hebrews 12:14-Make every effort to live in PEACE with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the LORD. Romans 12:18-If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at PEACE with everyone. Proverbs 16:7-When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make PEACE with them. John 16:33-“I have told you these things , so that in Me you may have PEACE. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”.

I hope that these verses are helpful. I pray that we all as people learn to live in peace. We have to seek peace in every circumstance of our lives. Yes, it is hard to do when there is so much going on in the world today; there is trouble on every side. We must never forget who holds this whole world in their hands, and we are part of this world that we live in, so He is holding us too. Don’t forget to tell Jesus how much you love Him, and how wonderful He is. Be blessed.

Numbers 6:24-26-I pray that the Lord will bless and protect you.

There are times when I forget that I am not alone, and that God is always there to protect me in every situation in my life. He has blessed me in so many ways. I have to remember that He will never leave me nor forsake me. When my mind keeps me up at night and I cannot sleep, He is always there. Whenever I am trying to figure out where a place is, He is always there. When people are driving crazy, He is there to protect me from harm. When all hell is breaking lose, He is there to let me know that everything is going to be alright.

When life gets in the way of things, and it seems as if nothing is working out right, He is there to put it all back together again. He is God, and He sees all, and knows all. He already knows all of the things that we will go through in our lives; and He also knows that we will need Him at some point to help us learn from all of our wrong decisions. His blessings that He gives to us, no one can take away. He is our Father and He will always be there for us to bless us with the desires of our hearts. I am so glad that I have a Father that will always bless and protect me, and HE will do the same for you too. Don’t forget to thank Him for His blessings and protection.Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I just want You to know just how much I love You, and just how wonderful You are to me. You have been in my life for a very long time, and I could not ask for anyone else to call Father. You have seen me through every trial and tribulation that I have gone through in my life. You have always protected me from danger unawares. Thank You for loving me when I didn’t know how to love myself. Thank You for giving me joy when I could not find it in my heart. Thank You for all that You have done, for all that You are doing, and for all that You are going to do in my life. Thank You for being just who You are. I am so thankful that You created me. I know I have made my fair share of mistakes, but You have taught me how to learn from them all. I am also thankful that You blessed me to have five wonderful children. I am thankful that You have blessed me with a loving husband. Thank You for bringing us through every storm, and for keeping us from harm. Father, You are so amazing and awesome! I do not know what I would do if You were not in my life. Thank You for changing me whenever I thought I could not be changed. I would not have my life if it were not for You. Thank You for always watching over me. You love more than anyone could love me, You care for me more than anyone else could ever care for me, and You are up with me when I cannot sleep.

When I lost my loved ones, You were there to comfort me, to dry my tears, to hold me in Your arms. You were there beside me all of the times I had to have procedures done at the hospital; You brought me through them all. You delivered me from depression. I could go on and on telling You how grateful, and thankful I am, but it would take me a lifetime to do it. If I had a thousand tongues, saying Thank You would never be enough. I love You Heavenly Father. You mean everything to me. There is nothing that could ever happen that would make me stop loving You. I will love You forever. Thanks for always never giving up on me, because I have never gave up on You. Thank You for everything from the bottom of my heart forever. Amen. This picture is for my Heavenly Father, the One Who First Loved Me.

Matthew 18:-10-See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Prayer: Dear Lord, always remind us to love children as You love them, even as we come to You with the trusting faith of a small child.

Reflection: Our earthly families may fail us, but our loving heavenly Father never will.

Continued Reading: Psalms 135-136 and 1 Corinthians 12

I know we may be adults, but we are children of God. Just like our children come to us for things, we can go to our Father in heaven through prayer and make our requests known to Him. He is always ready to listen to us, and not only that He is always ready to spend time with us. We should have a relationship with our heavenly Father just as our children has a relationship with us.

Strength for Your Journey

Habakkuk 3:19-The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to tread on the heights.

Prayer: Father God, sometimes my suffering seems too much to bear. Help me to trust You and continue to walk with You on this journey.

Reflection: We can trust the Lord to be our strength in tough times.

Continued Reading: Psalm 137-39 and 1 Corinthians 13

Often times we become weak for whatever reason… it could be due to stress, depression, beating ourselves up because of a mistake was made. Our flesh gets in the way at times, and then the weakness makes us question God, and ourselves for whatever the situation is. When things like that happen, we need to know that God is our strength. He will give us strength to keep on going, to keep on running the race until we make it to the finish line…it does not matter if we finish first, or last, just as long as we finish the race that is set before us. He strengthens our feet and legs when we feel like we cannot make another step. We can go anywhere as long as we stay with Him. During the tough times in our lives, He will give us strength to handle things that we never thought we could. We can trust Him to be our strength in every aspect of our lives. As long as we walk with God, He will take us to new heights to walk that we have never been before. When we walk with God, we can go anywhere and not be afraid of anything. He will give us all of the strength that we need to accomplish our goals in life. Without God we cannot do anything, but with Him we can do all things. He will take us to places that we have never been before. It will only make us trust Him more , and strengthen our faith. We are strong in the Lord. We are not weak, although in the Word, it says that women are the weaker vessel, we give birth to children, so I feel God gave us strength to go through all of that pain to show the males that they are not the only ones that are strong in Him. What ever the situation is, God will give us all the strength to accomplish what He has chosen for us to do in our lives.

In the beginning, I had a hard time knowing that my children were going to grow up and eventually want to go out on their own. I know it is for the best, but what dose one do when a parent loves their children so much and feels that they will forget about them? How does one sleep at night not knowing when that day is going to come? I have finally come to the realization that it is time for me to cut the apron strings. My children want to explore places that they have never been, meet new people, and make new friends. We know that we have raised our children right, and I am sure they will make good decisions, but if not, they will learn from the choices that they make.

It is like when baby birds get old enough to leave the nest to learn to fly, the mother bird will push them out the nest so they can start to strengthen their wings. I want our children to spread their wings and fly, they may fall, but they will get back up and try again. It has been great raising our children. Time just flew by so fast; that before we knew it , they were school age. Their baby years did not last long. I know I will always miss those years, and I will always have their pictures, and the memories that we have made together over the years. We can always message, talk, text, face time, and call each other. They will always be ours no matter what part of the world they are in.

I think it is harder for mothers than it is for fathers to let their children go. We have to cut the apron strings, or as they would say long ago; break the plate. I will always have a seat at the table waiting for them to come and have dinner, or just for a quick visit. The door will always be open. When they need us, we are just a phone call away. I hope for the best for them. I want them to have the best of everything that life has to offer. I pray that their hearts will always be filled with love and kindness, and respect for all people. I pray that the Lord will always be a hedge of protection around them, and bless them in all of the things that they strive for in their lives.

There are times when we may feel like we are alone whenever we go places by ourselves, but we are not alone. God is watching over us. He is protecting us by keeping us out of harms way, and keeping danger from us. He directs us in different directions when there is danger that we don’t know about that may be in the direction that we are headed. He said that He would never leave us nor forsake us. He holds our hand and keeps us on the right path that we may stray from. When we come and go, He is watching over us. When we get up and lie down, He is watching us. We are His children, He will always watch over us; and even when we are transitioning into the last years of our lives, and until we take our last breath; He is watching over us. So, no matter where we are in the world on this earth, He is watching over us, our every move, coming and going. It makes me happy to know that I have my Father in heaven watching over me.

Psalm 121:8

Today has been awesome! I have discovered that I should start something new that makes me happy. I have started drawing again! It has been five years since I have really taken the time out to rediscover something that I have always loved. I started drawing and painting when was just a little girl in kindergarten. It is so relaxing and stress free. I just posted on my new blog, Shaunelius Sterns’s Intellectual Abstract Art. I can be found at abstractart.video.blog. I have yet to collect all of my art pieces to post them. I hope everyone enjoy all of the pieces that I post, and the stories that connects with each piece.

I am so amazed that God brought this back to my mind. I had began to feel like something was missing in my life, but I just could not figure it out. I was looking through my computer just doing things, and I just happen to look on my nightstand and there was my sketch book. I opened it up and began to look at all of the stuff that I had done, and that is when I found what was missing. Now I am thinking about really drawing all of the time, and going to festivals to see what is out there, to seek out opportunities to sell my art. I have to start someplace, because if I don’t I will never know if I could become successful in what I want to do.

As I think about it, there are so many other things that I want to do; such as having my own line of something, my own brand. It can happen just as long as I keep God first in all that I do. Well, I have to get to work, success never start just by staying still, movement must be made. I thank God for all of the talents He has given me. I thank God for all of the talents that HE has given to you all as well. Keep on being creative, never stop learning, never stop dreaming, and most of all keep on being wonderful and putting God first. When we put Him first, He will do the rest. God bless.