Blog Posts

Dealing with anxiety: 3 key steps

Everyone is talking about that person. And no one has a kind word about them.

I recently accepted a role in another area and before I left, I was warned about that person! I arrived and yet again I was warned.

I haven’t met that individual as yet but I found myself building up a high level of anxiety because of all that was being said and the grave warnings. I started realizing that I was feeling fear about someone I hadn’t even met and ‘knew’ based on their reputation and other persons experience.

As I reflected on those feelings, I realized that I haven’t been dealing with my anx anxiety_godly woman 911 iety well.

I needed to take steps…

Step 1: Get to the core of the issue

I was anxious because of the unknown of what I was stepping in to. For me, when I don’t know something I research! After a bit of digging about that individual and their life history, I learnt a few things that broke my heart. This individual has had a challenging life and it clearly explained the issues. I now understood them a lot better.

Step 2: Resolve the issue through prayer

I know that I can’t fix anyone! But I serve a powerful God who can. And he uses people like you and me daily to help people heal and ultimately bring HIM all the glory. So I have been praying for this individual … And praying. Specific prayers and with scripture.

I appreciate that their healing may be a long road and might not even happen but I hope and I pray that they will be healed and God will mold me into the person HE needs me to be to make this happen.

I also pray for all of us who are quick to judge and write people off without understanding the core issues that led a person to where they are on their journey in life… We all do it, but we have to stop!

Step 3: Allow HIS Shalom to flow through you

Shalom means many things but the core meaning is peace. We serve the Prince of peace and we have to believe and trust in HIM. I have to trust in God that HE has heard my humble prayers for this individual. That my omnipotent (all powerful), omnipresent (everywhere) and omniscient (all-knowing) God who knows my heart and the true goodness I want for this person’s life will grant me HIS peace. I don’t know what the outcome will be but I believe that whatever it is, God will be glorified!

Food for thought: What or who is making you anxious today? Give it to God. Stop mulling over it. Pray. Fast. Praise. Let it go and allow God’s peace to flow through you.

Prayer: (Psalm 23) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen

May God’s mercy, peace and love be with you. Shalom

Top reasons not to tithe

“I was on the altar but he took me off of it”, said my friend. what did you say? godly woman 911

For those that know me well, I couldn’t help my facial expression after that one! My quick response, I have to say was not godly… “You wanted him to take you off the alter!”

Everyone started laughing at that response but I felt badly after! So I looked at her and said, “Your decision, to leave the church to be with a guy you shouldn’t have been with is no reason to not tithe” (Yes, this all started with me muttering to myself that I felt I didn’t calculate my tithing correctly and was trying to re-calculate!)

My friend thought that she couldn’t tithe because she was embarrassed about going back to Church. It left me thinking how many more people feel that way!

Many of us are uncomfortable and find many different reasons why we should not tithe. Some of the popular ones I have heard include:

I have too many bills
I don’t have enough money to tithe
I don’t trust the Church
Tithing is an Old Testament thing and not in the New Testament
I can’t decide who or where I should tithe
I am too scared to give away my money
Why do I have to give back my money to God?
I give my money to other things and people, that should count.
Many people are already tithing, mine aren’t needed
Tithe? What is that?

Many of the reasons include “I, I, I” … but the money that God has blessed you with is for “Him, Him, Him”. We have gotten very comfortable in thinking that it is ‘my money’ when it truly isn’t.

Job said it very well:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job 1:21

We can come up with many different reasons why we can’t tithe, but for those of us that are called by God and want to be obedient to the truth in HIS word, we are guided to tithe.

I don’t want to steal from God:

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.” Malachi 3:8-12

I have seen the additional abundant blessings of God when I have tithed:

“Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the first fruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10

Jesus came to fulfill the law in the true meaning of the law. We are to tithe, but also remember the importance of loving our neighbors:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Matthew 23:23

Food for thought: Are you tithing? If you are not, what is stopping you? Test God. This is the only thing in the bible that God tells us to test HIM in.

Prayer: Lord, remind your people that you are Creator of ALL things… and that includes the money and riches that you have graciously blessed us with. Tithing stirs a human weakness in us where we don’t want to separate from money but keep it all to ourselves… forgive us Lord. May our giving to your kingdom glorify and honor your holy name. Glory to God in the highest. Amen

May God’s peace, mercy and grace be with you.

What truth are you believing?

“You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?” Galatians 5:7

When you start a race, you usually start off really well. Pretend you are running a 26.2 mile marathon race (ok, I’m already dying just thinking about it… but I digress..).

marathon running, race, @godlywoman911

You are at the start line… a bit nervous, but you are ready to go.

By the 10th mile, you are confident, keeping your pace and confident that you are going to finish this race.

By the 15th mile, you are starting to feel aches, things are starting to feel routine.

By the 20th or 21st mile, many runners face what they consider a “runners block” where they hit the wall because they are physically and mentally tired. It is at this point that many runners drop out of a race.

I have found many Christians who have hit this ‘wall’. Even worse, I find many persons who ‘were Christians’ but are no longer because of a myriad of reasons.

But the scariest group I find, is those that were Christians, but living a lie and still believe that they are Christians and living in the truth.

These are persons who used to be people full of wisdom in God’s word but has allowed the world, to change the way they think that is against what is in the bible. Or they use to follow the bible, but it is too hard so they change the truth slightly so that their life is more comfortable and they persuade others to follow.

Warning: Be careful of the trap that the devil is setting. The world will present things to us that is wrapped up in silver and gold. There is an old saying “not everything that glitters is gold”, which means that you are not to be fooled by the things or people that sparkle/ look/ feel too good.

Who or what is cutting into your faith to separate you from the truth of Christ? Seek Christ wisdom.

Prayer: Father, your word strongly advises that there is only one way to the truth and that is your through your son Jesus. So when we are confused or we have a question, we are to seek you in prayer for wisdom which you give us freely and abundantly. Shelter your flock and keep them safe in your arms. For the tired and weak, grant them your strength. In Jesus name. Amen

May God’s grace, mercy and peace be with you.

When you are broker than broke

“Glory to God… Lord you are so good to me” said Paula.

Chris looked at her sideways with an exasperated look in his face, “What? Girl you are broker than broke. How in the world can you even praise God? You have been out of a job for six months and God still hasn’t answered your prayers.”

Paula smiling calmly explained, “I have to praise HIM. It was my actions that led me here and HE has promised to see me through.”

Now that made me smile. I don’t have the same circumstances as Paula, but there are many days where I feel as if I am broker than broke. And it was all my fault!

debt - financial management - @godlywoman911 A few weeks back I got so frustrated with my situation that I broke down and said, Lord, I need help! Not making wise choices with finances and uncaring about my future has led me to a current scary life of paycheck to paycheck.

Researching and studying the bible, two things happened:

I realized that Jesus spoke quite a lot about money and the handling of money. The entire bible has quite a lot of information on money, debt management, tithing, giving, making money… you can find it all! Proverbs 22:7 though struck a chord in my heart:

“The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.”

Even with all of my debt, I was about to sign a loan. This verse woke me up! I want to only be a slave to Christ, and I knew I needed HIS help to guide me.

I met Dave. A straight talking, funny, loving, and wise man of God! In my research, I found many people who provided guidance on how to get out of debt but none truly caught my eye. Until, I met Dave Ramsey. If you have never met him, you just have to. I have never met him personally, but he speaks to me every day via his podcasts. I knew that I was in a very bad place when I couldn’t even afford to enroll in his Financial Peace University! Embarrassing, but by listening to him, I am piecing together the steps I need to take and what I need to do. It is a slow process.

Final thoughts: Are you in debt? Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Are you unemployed? Whatever, your reason, call out to God. HE will hear you.

Prayer: Lord, creator of all things, glory be to your powerful name. Your word declares that you will meet all of our needs according to your glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Forgive us for our lack of trust. Forgive us for our lack of obedience in following the wisdom provided in your Word. Father, I beg you to help those who are in bondage to the lender. Meet the needs of those who have no clue where the money will come from. For those that are waiting for your promises to come through, Lord may you grant them strength in the waiting. We seek your wisdom in our finances and money management that all of it will be to your glory. In Jesus name. Amen

May God’s glory, mercy and peace be with you.

Should I read the bible in one year?

Today, I heard someone commenting “That place is a hot mess. Everyone is doing their own thing!”

As I was reading about the Church of Thyatira tonight, a verse made me pause: “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2:20-21‬ ‭

In using the name Jezebel, we understand that her name may not have actually been Jezebel but John (the writer of Revelation) called her that because of the close similarity to Queen Jezebel who was the wife of King Ahab and proven to be an idolatrous and wicked queen. You can read more about her in 1 Kings 16 to 2 Kings. This Jezebel in Revelation was a ‘prophetess’ who misled the church into sexual immorality and eating food they never should have eaten.

So as I reflected on this and remembered the comments of today, I truly thought… “How did we get here?” And I said we because the meat of the matter is that we all like doing our own thing.

And if we dig deeper, not only do we like doing our own thing but we also listen and tolerate many things.

And funny enough, the one thing that centered on my mind was that we should never read the entire bible in one year! One year to read the bible means that we never actually study the bible but we just truly skim it.

If we never truly study the bible slowly, we miss the meaning, the soul and embodiment of the scripture. It is why so many things are taken out of context and people are misled by ‘pastors’, ‘prophets’, ‘evangelists’, ‘tele-evangelists’, ‘prophetess’ …. And we can go on but you get my point.

If you desire to read the bible in one year, go ahead! But don’t stop there… Continue to read the bible slowly after, study it, memorize it and start sharing the stories that you learn. No one can take that from you and the more you know the lesser chance that you can be misled!

Food for thought: If you have ever read the book of Judges, this phrase would be very familiar to you: “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes”. Let’s consider a change… Don’t look to yourself to figure out what is right… Look to God and HIS Word. Study it!

Prayer: Holy Father, the more I study your word, the sweeter it gets. The more I penetrate, the wiser I become. The more time I spend, the closer I get to you. A sinner like me, I am not worthy of any of these riches but how I thank you for your grace and mercy. Amen

May God’s grace, love and mercy be with you.

Go ahead and Gossip!?

“Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign,went out to meet him.So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” John 12:17-19

gossip - godly woman 911

You can just imagine the juicy gossiping that would have been hot off the press when Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead.

“Did you hear?”

“Dead man brought back to life”

“Miracle man has done it again!”

What a story they must have had to tell after seeing first hand Lazarus brought back to life.

Now, I know I know… technically that wasn’t gossiping because they were sharing facts.

Gossiping is defined as a casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. And the bible does warn and tell us not to gossip.

As I listen to this story, I think of the game Chinese whispers that we use to play as kids. The first person in the line gets the original message and by the time it got to the last person, the “facts” had changed drastically.

But it reminds me that we all have a story! What has God done for you that you are bursting to share? Lazarus was a huge miracle that obviously got persons excited, but for you it may just be something small that made a huge impact in your life.

How are you going to share it?

Food for thought: We close ourselves off from sharing good news in our lives. Maybe people would find it interesting… maybe they won’t. And no, gossiping is something we should never do, but we should be sharing about Christ small or big miracles in our lives. We never know whose life it will change!

Prayer: Forgiving Father, that small anatomy in our mouths that continually get us in trouble… forgive us for our excitement to share lies (gossiping), to hurt others, and to deceive. May we use our tongues for good – to bring glory to your kingdom. Amen

May God’s grace, mercy and love be with you.

Leadership: 4 Key Lessons from Naaman

horses @godlywoman911

“So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.”‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭5:9-12‬ ‭

The story of Naaman is an amazing one that is full of great key lessons. You can read the full story here.

Naaman, one of the key people in 2 Kings, was the army commander for the Arameans (Syrian army). The bible says that “He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram.” 2 Kings 5:1

This commander that was obviously respected and revered, also had leprosy.

Lesson 1: Every one has a cross to bear

Even blessed as a great leader, Naaman had a disease that was incurable. We sometimes look at our leaders or persons that we perceive have greater blessings than ours and we envy them. But this story in the bible is a reminder that every one has a cross to bear.

You know the issues you may have. Stop envying others. Seek God’s wisdom and be patient… your time will come.

Lesson 2: Look beyond

The Arameans were hostile towards Israel. We know this because the story notes that the young girl who served Naaman’s wife was a captive from Israel.

We saw her compassion in v. 3 “She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”“

She lost everything when she was taken as a slave. Her home, family, friends and freedom. But her simple act of compassion and forgiveness made a change in the life of her master not only physically but spiritually as well.

When we feel trapped in situations (maybe in your home or your job), the pain or suffering sometimes forces us to maintain within our prison. Sometimes an act of kindness, compassion and love will allow our ‘masters/ controllers’ to not only see the God that we serve but also to start serving HIM.

I can only imagine the way the slave girls life would have changed once Naaman went back home.

Lesson 3: Humble yourself

Not only was the girl young, but she was a slave. Naaman, a great leader of thousands, chose to listen to the advice of one that would not have had much power or status.

He humbled himself.

And he had to humble himself even further when Elisha sent him a message (not deigning to even come and give it himself to this great leader) to dip seven times in the Jordan river (one of the most disgusting rivers… after all, Naaman felt he should have been told to dip in the nicer rivers – Abana and Pharpar). He didn’t want to do it.

But again, he humbled himself.

When things may be below your station/ status, humble yourself, you never know what miracle God has for you on the horizon.

Lesson 4: Look to Christ

Leprosy was a slow progressing, incurable skin disease that in the days of the Old Testament were believed to only be cured by a miracle.

What ‘incurable’ situation do you think you have in your life? What miracle are you waiting for? Are you depending on yourself to fix the problem or other persons?

Look on Christ. Feast your eyes on HIM and call out to HIM. Only God can fix your issue. Stop wasting time with trying to look for help elsewhere!

Food for thought: Proverbs 16:3 tells us to “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans”. Let’s commit our leadership and plans to the Lord.

Prayer: Holy God, compassionate and just. Forgive us when we look to find leadership training elsewhere but your Word. Thank you for the many stories and examples of sound leadership in the bible. May we be guided by stories such as Naaman and seek you first in all of our decisions. We pray for humility, strength, courage and wisdom. In Jesus name. Amen

May God’s grace, mercy and peace be with you.

How can I handle stress? A look at the life of Jesus

I was listening to a sermon the other day and heard the pastor reflect on the way that Jesus handled stress. This sermon sparked a great interest in me to truly dig deeper and reflect a bit more on how Jesus truly handled stress.

My initial thought of Jesus and stress… No Way! He was Jesus!

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Jesus was always in stressful situations…

Jesus was always being attacked by the religious leaders of the day;
Jesus gained such popularity that everywhere HE went there were crowds following HIM;
Jesus was known as the healer and everyone brought their sick to him for healing;
Jesus experienced betrayal;
Jesus had the weight of the world on his shoulders to cover all of OUR sins with HIS blood.

So really, how did he manage all of it?

how to handle stress - jesus handling stress - @godlywoman911

Above all, he was never stressed out! In every stressful situation, Jesus practiced a few things, but here is one of the best examples:

Matthew 26:36-44

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter.“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.”

And I like the ending of that same story here in Luke 22:42-44

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.“

What did we learn from these readings? Jesus handled stressful situations by:

Seeking solitude to pray

HE didn’t make a public display of stress! HE didn’t decide to ignore it. No, HIS first step was to seek a place of solitude to go and pray.

God is our hope in stressful situations. We need to run to HIM first!

Out of his disciples he choose three to walk with him

HIS inner circle became even smaller. He chose 3 out of 12 to join him as he went off to pray. We don’t have to let everyone know what we are going through, especially if they are not your close friends or family.

Never bring your stressful situations to social media. That will never help.

Choose your inner circle wisely.

HIS inner circle fell sleep… Jesus was distraught by this. To me, that is like chilling with your BFF and telling them the stresses you are experiencing and they fall asleep on you! Not a good moment!

Our close friends and family will disappoint us… but our faith, need for support and reliance should never be on humans. Know that your redeemer lives. Believe in HIM and don’t be crushed when humans dissappoint.

An angel came to give Jesus replenishment. Not his disciples. Not the government. Not the religious leaders.

Only God can replenish us.

Important note: Jesus faced daily stressful situations but never gave up. In all things HE was still obedient to the will of God.

Food for thought: We can’t do it on our own. We will fail. But remember that you have Christ in you! In Christ, all things are possible. He will give you the strength you need to overcome any stress or pressure you may be feeling.

Prayer: God of comfort, love and peace. Thank you for your living word that is available to help us through any situation that we may face. Thank you for the example of Jesus and the lessons that we learn even in HIS sorrow. May we take this lesson and be obedient to this word. For those that are going through the storm right now, facing stressful situations or feeling the pressure coming down on them, grant them your peace that passes all understanding. May the seek your face Lord and cast all their burdens on to you knowing that you care and love them. In Jesus name. Amen

May the God of peace, love and mercy be with you.

In Christ or in Church?

For many years I lived a life of serving and pleasing others above anything else.

I attended and served in Church in many different areas because it was what was expected of me. I fell in to a habit of doing more and more in Church because they needed all the help they could get.

For those of you that may have experienced this, I am sure you know what happened next. But my case may have been a bit different.

What I now dub as the “dark era” in my life, I used church to fill a gap in my life … My second marriage was failing, my job had a new boss that made life very interesting, I was experiencing health issues and finally I just burnt out.

I was exhausted.

And I wanted nothing more to do with Church.

My marriage was done. I was just going to work to pay my bills. It felt as if every passion and light within me was gone.

I remember after weeks of darkness in my home and avoiding as many people as I could, I stood up in my bedroom and started screaming and crying my heart out at God. I was a good Christian who served and gave my all to everyone…. Why? Why was my life this way.

Choosing Christ, reflection, meditation @godlywoman911

I heard God saying to me, “I love you. I didn’t create you to be depressed and angry. It is now time for you to not serve others but serve me. Come closer to me… Know me!”

My eyes were opened that day… All along, I had been serving the church and others but I had NO relationship with Christ. I didn’t study the bible. I didn’t like to pray. I felt forced to show my face in church and when I did I was always late… Missing worship. I had done things backward.

I didn’t want to be the person of Isaiah‬ ‭29:13 “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”

Now, I attend Church and serve in different capacities but I no longer do anything to please man… It is all for HIS glory.

Food for thought: Do you desire a relationship with God more than religious practices?

Prayer: Father, glory and honor be to your most holy name. Forgive us Lord when even as people who serve the church, we do it for other people to praise us and forget that we should always be serving for your glory and praise. Like David, a man after your own heart, may we state with conviction ““One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”‭‭ (Psalm‬ ‭27:4) Amen

May God’s mercy, peace and love be with you always.

Being a part of…

I miss my life group.

It is summer.

School is out.

And this usually means that all bible study groups are on a summer break. And I miss my weekly sessions with such an amazing group of women that God has blessed me with.

I don’t take lightly the responsibility that God has graciously given me to teach a group of adult women who continually inspire me to learn more and grow in my relationship with Christ.

Last week as my mind was meditating and I was praying for each of them I started looking for a verse that spoke to me that I could share with the ladies and the Lord led me to this:
“let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:22-25‬

As I sent this message to our group What’s app, I inserted the group name in the scripture as I did when I prayed.

I wanted my ladies to remember that even though we are apart for the next few weeks that we never forget to do the following:

1) Continue to draw near to Christ and stay strong in the faith. Study HIS word, pray and continually worship HIM.

2) Sometimes we feel guilty about taking a break, but use the time given wisely to purify and rejuvenate ourselves in Christ.

3) Many of us continue to go through storms and different situations but we are never to forget that we serve the one true God who has promised to never forsake us. Continue to hope in HIM and never give up!

4) As we journey along, continue to check in with each other and pray for one another. Encourage each other.

Food for thought: I encourage you to also adopt the 4 points above. If you are not a part of a group, then join or create a group. Strengthen one another in the faith.

Prayer: For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)

May God’s grace, mercy and peace be with you.