MY FIRST BOOK SIGNING~!!!
Mood:  energetic

I am excited beyond belief at the idea of my very first book signing. This event has been a long time in coming for me and I endeavor to enjoy it to the fullest! This signing solidifies me as an author. I've written many poems and of late articles but never have I been so proud of any of my work as I am this book. I am not glorying in this moment because I think I've arrived or because I think I've done something unusual for there are many talented writers like me starting out. I'm excited about this book because it tells the world of how I've been delivered from so many weights that used to hold me back. My book speaks to that person who was like me, hiding so much pain in private but publicly showing joy. I'm excited because God allowed me to have another medium to reach people for Him. To share my story with the world and let them know that Healing Is For YOU TOO if only they put their trust in the savior. 

If you can and you are in the area, please join me in celebrating my personal milestone. I'll be at the Sheraton in Charleston, S.C. from October 8-9th. There will be many vendors there as NCFCI will be also celebrating their Holy Convocation. Come out and fellowship with me, take pictures and I'll sign your copy of my book. I know it will bless you because I allowed God to show me how to write this piece.

Please keep me in prayer and remember HEALING IS FOR YOU TOO~!

 

 

READ AN EXCERPT. CLICK HERE!

DO YOU HAVE REAL PEACE?
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: Peaceful

DO YOU HAVE REAL PEACE?

 

Funny how you grow and change as time goes by. Funny how the Lord let you see you. I was thinking today about the state of my life and all the change that has taken place for me in ministry over the last three months. It was then that I suddenly realized something. I had the wrong idea of what true Christ like peace was supposed to be.

 

At one time I thought REAL PEACE was having all the bills paid or being able to spend a couple of hundred dollars on clothes. I thought it was having that special someone or being cool with my girls. I thought real peace was having a job that was secure or validation by my church leadership. But in growing and learning I found out that isn't true peace.

 

In the last three years, I've learned that true peace, real peace is in Jesus. REAL PEACE is when you just lost your job and you're not stressed even when the rent is due tomorrow. REAL peace is when the only significant other in your life is Jesus and the relationship you have with him fascinates you so much that you don't want to share your time with anyone else right now. REAL peace is knowing that you and God are so ok, that you don't care if the others at church or anyone else ever validates you. REAL PEACE is knowing you're healed even if the doctor says there's no known effective treatment. REAL peace is complete trust in God.

 

REAL peace is resting in God for everything. REAL PEACE is allowing Him to be your safety net, whether you can see the provision or not. REAL PEACE drives us to help someone else in need....even when we have a need ourselves! Real Christ embedded peace within us compels us to share the gospel, whether the person received it or not. REAL PEACE allows us to rest in the joy of the Lord and smile sincerely through all adversity. REAL PEACE, the God kind of peace gives us strength to deal with any situation or any loss that our lives may present us. When we've cultivated REAL peace in our spirit, we don't trip when people betray us lie to us or on us. It teaches us how to ride out our storms that arise in our lives with grace and dignity. REAL PEACE tells us that the Lord will vindicate us from anything the enemy throws at us. REAL PEACE lets us truly love all people and pray for them without harboring any kind of malice. REAL PEACE in the Lord allows you to break forth in laughter and dancing even if there's no music playing. REAL PEACE motivates us to greet each day with expectancy because we're anxious to hear what the Lord will say to us next.

 

REAL PEACE comes when we kill more of our flesh and embrace the desire to be more like Christ. REAL PEACE in Christ is trust and which is the foundation of any loving relationship. REAL peace is blind trust and unwavering love for our Saviour. I thank God for every revelation He gives me. He's shown me how to come to that place of attaining REAL PEACE. During this season, seek the Saviour so that you too can find and bask in REAL PEACE.

 

Be encouraged child of the most high God~!

____________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Denise J. Williams is the founder and Pastor of Broken Vessel Outreach Ministries International. She has just completed her first book entitled “The Healing Of A Broken Vessel” which should be on the shelves in early 2009. She and her husband reside in Jacksonville, Fl.

 

copyright 2008~11/20/08

Copyright © 2008

http://www.thebrokenvessel.com

Email: pastorwilliams@bluebottle.com

ARE YOU READY TO JOIN THAT CHURCH?

1. It is important to learn the chain of command in a church. By that I mean you have to find out how conflict is handled. Are the leaders open to hearing your view? Is your view in direct opposition to what the church embraces? Need to consider this BEFORE joining that ministry.

2. Next, are you looking for a church to cater to you only? If you are looking for spiritual help you must understand that they will not say yes and amen to everything you want. If you want to be pampered or spoiled, join a spa. If you pay them enough they'll do whatever you want. Most successful ministries I’ve encountered were focused on helping the body corporately and supporting missions work. If you need special counseling or prayer it should be an occasional assistance not a daily event. Remember the needs of any one person or family shouldn’t dominate the entire ministry.

3. Next, are you well versed on the doctrine of your belief and does is coincide with what the prospective church believes?. Knowing what the bible says about major issues helps when choosing a church. If you don't take the time to learn as much as you can about your faith, don't get frustrated when you are misled by someone else (church leader or anyone else) who is not informed. The way I see it, it's your own fault for being too lazy to seek out information that impacts your spiritual development.

4. Find out how the money is allocated. Is there alot of missions work the church supports? Are there community endeavors they contribute to? This doesn't always work but I've found that churches that support alot of outreach projects are less likely to have money being mishandled. Again, before joining ask how often members are given an itemized list of where money goes and ask if the members have a say in how money is spent.

5. Lastly, find out who the pastor, bishop or Apostle of that church is accountable to. Many times scenarios like the one described by many people who don't look at who the pastor is accountable to. This is important!. Does the pastor take difficult issues in his congregation to a more seasoned leader for advice or does he just flies by the seat of his pants? Does he confront things head on or does he just not call or avoid you until you go away? Does the pastor run the church by catering to the high financial supporters of the ministry? These are things to be aware of so be observant.

6. Is everyone treated fairly in the ministry? Or is there any other group considered weaker or less important?

7. Meet with the pastor and inquire about where he went to school. I understand that in years past we relied on the spirit to direct us and that was acceptable because we were limited in educational endeavors due to a Jim Crow society. But now we should expect the pastor to have had some kind of training whether it was a degree in theology or actual hands on work as an assistant pastor. Of course seek out a church where the leader believes in the move of God through the Holy Ghost. I believe effective leaders should be disciplined in being a student of the word.

8. What is the pastor's family like? Is he or she constantly dealing with maritial problems that seem to be the focus of the church? Is their spouse constantly in trouble with the law, drugs, sexual indiscretions that seem to be the six O'clock news in the ministry? Is there a problem with their personal finances where the church frequently has to take up donations to come to their rescue? This may be an indicator that the leader is a bit distracted with personal problems. I know each case is different, but it's something that should be noted when deciding to join a church.

This isn’t all inclusive and again, every case is different. The most important thing is that after all the scrutiny has been completed remember to seek God about where the best place is for you. Remember that no church, ministry or leader is perfect and God may have placed you there for a reason. Don’t go in being judgmental or thinking you have all the answers. Trust me; it’s easier to make criticisms when you are on the outside looking in.

Be encouraged child of the most high God~!

____________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Denise J. Williams is the founder and Pastor of Broken Vessel Outreach Ministries International. She has just completed her first book entitled “The Healing Of A Broken Vessel” which should be on the shelves in early 2009. She and her husband reside in Jacksonville, Fl.

copyright 2008~11/20/08
Copyright © 2008
http://www.thebrokenvessel.com
Email: pastorwilliams@bluebottle.com

THE SECRET OF PRAYER!
Mood:  happy
Topic: PRAYER

---

Like many people, I used to struggle in my prayer life. I would feel guilty,
condemn myself and even evade the topic of prayer with other saints because I
felt like a failure. I thought that my good work, faithful church attendance and
tithing would offset the fact that my prayer life wasn't what it should be
for someone like me who professed an undying faith in Jesus. I would try to have
devotions before I'd pray and fall asleep while reading a scripture. I'd
engage in corporate prayer at church, but that didn't satisfy the intimacy I
needed with the Lord that comes through personal, private prayer.

I know that prayer is one of three powerful tools we have as believers. The
other two tools of fasting and studying the word are only complemented by having
a strong, consistent prayer life. The bible says in the book of James 5:16 it
states "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much." This declaration that James makes reminds us that God hears and
responds to prayer. He loves when we seek Him, worship Him and acknowledge Him.
He loves to bless us! He wants us to know Him in a personal way. Prayer offers
us that. Prayer gives us a calming peace and security that only the Father can
provide for us. This peace that surpasses all understanding that is mentioned in
Phillipans 4:7 is given to us freely by a God who loves us unconditionally.

I wanted to seek God about my prayer life and in order to do so I felt I had to
make some declarations. The first one I made was that my prayer life needed an
overhaul. The second was that I needed to repent to God for avoiding prayer and
making excuses for not praying consistently. Next I wanted to learn how to pray
so that my prayers were more effective.

I needed to re-examine the scripture in James 5:16. It does state that the
prayers of the righteous carry weight with the Lord, however it also states that
we must "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that
ye may be healed." I didn't realize it at the time, but I needed to be
honest with fellow believers that I was struggling with finding quality time to
cultivate my prayer life. I needed their support, their prayers and their love
to help me get through the dry season I was experiencing in my prayer life. The
times of pretending, hiding and borderline lying about how much time I was
spending with God needed to stop. Immediately.

Next I wanted God to teach me how to pray. I searched the word and took a new
look at the Lord's prayer. In Matthew 6:9 Jesus tells the disciples how NOT
to pray. He talked in the previous verses about "vain repetitions". In
other words, I shouldn't try to impress God with selfish, distant prayers. I
needed to be honest with God about whatever I needed at that moment. The next
thing God revealed to me was that I needed to have conversations with the Lord,
not feel like prayer is a forced, painful ritual that requires me to put in
time. When I thought of prayer this way, as a duty it created a bondage for me
and therefore I'd avoid it. When I re-read the Lord's prayer I learned
to talk to God which is what praying really is. The prayer teaches me to simply
acknowledge God by telling Him his name is "hallowed", sacred and
holy. It tells me to ask God to make His will known in my life (thy kingdom come
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven). It reminds me to ask God for !
 provision or daily bread, to forgive me for anything I've done amiss and
to have mercy on people that sin against me. This passage told me to always ask
God to keep temptations from me and keep me delivered from evil. Then the
closing acknowledges His sovereign power.

God used this prayer to give me a revelation. My spirit was illuminated after
reading this passage prayerfully. Why I never saw this before I can't answer
but I will never forget the day I'd received this understanding concerning
prayer. The Lord showed me that I was simply making too much of a production of
prayer. When I used to do this, it would make praying a burdensome task and
I'd feel bondage instead of freedom. The Lord showed me that praying
isn't a prison. It's a way to simply talk to my best friend~Jesus! I
didn't have to have a structured prayer time every day. I could pray to the
Father ANYTIME of day, any day of the week. Tradition taught me to set aside a
prayer time daily that may include a set time to begin and end. The Lord showed
me that I could pray in my car, in class, at work or even when preparing dinner
for my family. I could pray when washing dishes or while I'm cleaning the
bathroom. I learned that my prayers to God don't have to have formality
they just need to be sincere.

I learned that God loves when we talk to Him. He loves when we are honest with
Him and tell Him our vulnerabilities so He can fix what ails us. He wants us to
cast all of our cares on Him. I'm so glad I sought the Lord about prayer
because it freed me from the traditions of men that I was taught concerning
prayer. Yes I could still have a set time daily to meet the Lord in prayer if I
choose to but if I miss that time, I could still talk to the Father and He will
honor my prayer.

The reason why I love the Lord so much is because when we struggle with issues,
He speaks the answers. He loves us too much to allow us to feel any bondage
because whom Jesus set free is free indeed. Talk to the Father where ever you
are. Have an honest conversation with the Lord. Make Him your best friend. That
is the secret of prayer…..

Be encouraged child of the most high God~!

---

copyright 2008~11/20/08

---------------------------------------
"Win 'em for Jesus! A soul at a time!"