“I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually, they make the difference between winning and losing.” —Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -

Meaning of win a successful result in a contest, conflict, bet, or another endeavor; a victory

The word win is in the Bible approximately 43 times in ten translations of the Bible. 

The word win was on the lips of many last night.. As the coin flipped and the whistle blew… and we said let the game began. Many fans shouted victory while many cried in their beer. It was a Superbowl that would make history. So many fans across the nation placing wagers.. taking sides… choosing teams. Finding our decisions pit many friends against friends and families against families. 

So how does this game of mind, body, and soul stack up against life? How does this word win show its victorious head in the Bible ??  Are we in a game? I would venture to say it could resemble a game… We are all on this amazing race we know as life. 

When I look around many are choosing sides… There seem to be only two teams, The team of light and the team of darkness. There are some that are having difficultly deciding and are dance the dance of chance… We must search our own hearts and see what team we are on? The game seems to be getting intense. Time is a crucial factor! Some may stay in the game until the last whistle sounds. But what if you are injured and carried off the field?  Where will you go?  Light or dark it is a choice. 

I can only answer this question on a personal level… I have been touched by this amazing light, I know the franchise owner on a personal level… I am forever drawn to His light… I am like a moth to a flame… With an insane drive to chase Him to the finish line. He has promised me I will share in His victory dance for eternity.  I have it by a reputable source that He is the winner of the game of life. He is the winner of many hearts ... He is the ultimate winner of the game of thrones!!!!

It’s Him, It’s always Him!! 

Go TEAM JESUS ❤🕊

Many have unsuccessfully tried to disprove my source ❤click on the link below and give it a try.  You may be surprised what you might find!! ✝🕊https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bible/id282935706

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5 ESV

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube 

The Champion- Carman

I am His by Election. I am His by Donation. I am His by Creation. I am His by Redemption.I am His by Presentation.

The meaning of mine: used to indicate the one or ones belonging to me: 

The word mine appears in 825 instances in the Bible.

When I see the word mine my mind drifts to the thoughts of children as they fight for what they think is rightfully theirs. Resulting in its mine syndrome. 

I do believe many people still operate under those guidelines. And selfishness raises its ugly head. 

Come with me as we explore what we can discover about this word in this amazing Book we have taken ownership of. This copy is mine. Rightfully so it has my name on the cover to prove it...It's my copy of my Bible. However, the story that is tucked so lovingly between its pages is for all mankind... So again is it truly mine? 

Are our earthly possessions truly ours? Or are they just on loan for a short time while we are here on earth? Why are we so possessive of our personal treasures?  When I think of the word mine with my spiritual eyes. My mine becomes, me! the true essence of who I am. The memories that I have made with others .. and the relationships we have cultivated and lovingly shared. But even these things are not things we can keep and say they are mine. Because when we leave this earth the memories and relationships that were shared become ours .. Yours and the ones we have left behind.

When we boil it down all things are a gift from our Heavenly Father. The only possession we truly can say it’s Mine is our relationship with Him... The Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the true and only constant in our lives.. and they have given us this promise for eternity...

But I have discovered that sharing Him with others enriches my life. 

Because He is Omni-mine. He is the great I-am... I am everything to everyone... I truly do not understand how He does it. But I just know He is mine and I am His...and if you stand in my presence I plan on sharing Him with anyone who is willing to listen... I hope that my sharing Him plants a seed in your soul that makes Him yours. 

It’s Him, It’s always Him 

Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine. 

Leviticus 20:26

Photo Design & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube

The Dead South - This Little Light of Mine [Live

ref: https://www.wordsoflife.co.uk/bible-studies/study-8-i-am-his-and-he-is-mine/

If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. Desmond Tutu

Meaning of Enemy a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something:

The word "enemy" is in the King James Version of The Bible 107 times. It is in 106 verses.

Who wants to peel this word back for me ??? Such a dark word. Who is this enemy? Where do we find him? Does this enemy cause us pain? Does he live within our hearts? Are we our own worst enemy? I do believe it comes from a dark soul that does His best to see us fall. He does His best to see us fail, to see us cry out in heartfelt pain. I do not give him credence or power by mentioning his name... He is not worthy of my tongue uttering his name! But I am sure you have heard his name!! 

As I discover these words, I can only speak from experience. I do believe we all have experienced the enemy living within our hearts... It’s known as fear. It’s known as doubt. It's known as darkness.  Darkness can take us to a place of sadness.  A place of beautiful surrender. A place of self-discovery. It’s in the darkest hour, we hit our knees, and bow our heads and say I cannot do this alone!  God, please help me!! Take this from me! Some even try to make deals with God? Why do we wait to call His beautiful name? Why is it in the bad or uncertain times we search for Jesus? Why do we forget the Holy Spirit is the greatest comforter? They have been with us since birth. And then this Scripture came to mind. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22.6 -

We are His children! He is our morning light, He is our Joy, He is our soft place to fall in our darkest hour... He is our power and strength when we find the need to fight the enemy. Even if the enemy is darkness within. 

I can only urge you to find the child within... It's the innocent child that has never forgotten Him... It's in our adult state we have forgotten the inner child and the inner child holds the key to God's heart... And with Him, we can be victorious over any challenges that we may face in our earthly life!! 

The enemy within is real, it sometimes is a subtle whisper or it can be a raging war. 

Don’t wait, arm your inner child. Give them the greatest weapon to fight the enemy! Give them Him !!! 

You will fall in love with Life and His Love. You will find the power and strength you never knew existed. He is our lifeline. Call 📞 Him, Find Him, Love Him! Arm yourself, give your inner child the tools, to be ready for any battle.. He has promised us to never leave us!!! 

It’s Him, It’s always Him! 🔑

He is my protector, my confidant, my love, my guiding light... with Him darkness dissipates like a vapor in the wind! 

Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:4

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

“The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. Joshua 10:19

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the Lord see it, and it displeases Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.” Proverbs 24:17

Photo Design & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube

Phil Wickham - Children of God (Official Lyric Video)

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 

Meaning of chapter: the main division of a book, typically with a number or title.

When I started my quest to find out more about the word chapter it immediately brought me to these statistics. Which I found quite interesting and thought I would share.

Number of books in the Bible: 66

Chapters: 1,189

Verses: 31,102
Words: 783,137
Letters: 3,116,480

https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/q10_bible_facts_statistics/

This amazing Book never stops amazing its believers. I will confess I chose this word today because I wanted to chase the chapter that is known as the LOVE chapter. 1 Corinthians 13. After all, February is a month where many celebrate LOVE. 

When did LOVE become so commercialized? When did we have to be reminded to LOVE? We have been given a LIFE manual we lovingly call the Bible. It’s a book that holds a wealth of information and it teaches us how to conduct our lives. This amazing treasure goes back to the beginning of time.

Here is a peek at the Chapter on LOVE.

1 Corinthians 13

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.⁸ Love never fails. 

After reading the scripture above, I remembered I actually read these very words at my cousin's wedding. But as I read these words today my soul leads me to another place. These words speak of the very character of our Heavenly Father! I challenge you to think of Him and now re-read the above scripture. 

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:6

But now that we have embraced these character traits. The question becomes, how do we own them, carry and execute these traits for ourselves? How can we own them for more than just one month a year? 

I say Ask. 

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 

We are all a work in progress, I can only suggest that you make each day better than the last. Wishing that you are blessed by His abundant LOVE.

 It's Him. It's always Him. 

Photo Design & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube

Hillsong - Deeply in love

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrew 4:13..

Meaning of naked (of something such as feelings or behavior) undisguised; blatant:

According to one source, there are 104 references to the word " naked " and its derivatives in 87 verses of the King James Version of the Bible.

When I say the word naked for a Bible word study it may raise a few eyebrows... But I have been challenged by a good source.. so let’s see with the naked eye where this word might take us?? 

We all have grown accustomed to adorning our bodies with clothes that reflect our own self-worth and our personalities and style. And we seem to think that our own beauty will shine for others to see. But do you ever wonder why we come into this world naked? Because you are a beautiful miracle from God. He loves us as we are... But as we grow we began to apply layers to protect ourselves from a cold sometimes cruel world. But God will always see us through all layers, all the scars.. all the beautiful moments of life... But as we build our perception of what we want others to see. We begin to hide the beautiful child within. 

If we are fortunate enough to find God!! Again !! He will strip our layers one at a time. This sometimes can be a beautifully painful experience. But with His love, you will emerge into the true you. A beautiful creation from God. 

We will begin to shed the layers we have built to hide the child within... We will see past the outerwear that covers our bodies. We will be reintroduced to our naked soul, the naked child that lives with our hearts... And as we feel this freedom. We will begin to emerge naked for the world to see... And God will say hey it’s you. I love the nakedness of you welcome back. Being naked in front of God is one of the most soul-opening experiences you will ever imagine!! You don’t even need to say no peeking. Because He knows everything about you inside and out ... There is No one else that we know that knows us that well. 

It’s Him, It’s always Him. 

Go and be the beautiful you! The beautiful child that God has always seen... 

“And said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”Matthew 18:3 NKJV

Photo Pexel & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube

Natalie Grant- The Real Me

Jesus makes you happy in reality. The world makes you happy escaping from reality. – Jack Hyles

The meaning of escape an act of breaking free from confinement or control:

There are approximately 23 verses in the Bible that reference the word Escape...

Have you ever felt trapped? I am sure if you are taking the time to read my thoughts on this confining word. The word may have been trapped in your subconscious mind at some time in your life. 

But are we trapped in the physical or does it go deeper? 

When we think of our souls are we trapped in our earthly body? Does our soul yearn for a freedom that we once knew? Does it crave love from a place it calls home? 

The closest thought I have on this subject matter is meditation. I have found this gift to be amazing. I was introduced to meditation in a very unconventional way... 

The day after my heart and soul felt a love like nothing I had ever experienced here on earth. Without any coaching, intervention, or knowledge... I placed my earbuds in my ears, listened to music, laid my lazy boy chair back and I found that I drifted to an unconscious state of meditation. I started this activity at 5:30 am and I escaped to a place that I did not understand. I can only tell you how it felt. 

It was a time of love on a spiritual level where I communicated with my Heavenly Father. I did not know Him before this encounter. I knew of Him but I did not truly know Him. I was a state of bliss, a state of oneness I was in a state that I could not escape... But in reality, I did not want to escape from my piece of heaven on earth. I remained in this state of communication for approximately 12 hours. 

Don’t ask me how I did this? Because I myself do not understand what happened on that day. The mood broke at 6:00pm with the ringing of my phone! I can not tell you what we shared that day. I can only try to explain this moment in time and share Him and His beautiful gift of love with anyone that is open to listening.  I did escape that day... it is a time in my life that has left me forever changed... 

But the story did not end there. He lovingly waltzed me through the most amazing journey of discovery. I discovered me.

It’s an escape, that I chase and willingly pursue. My Heavenly Father is our refuge, His beautiful Son, Yeshua is the key ... and the Holy Spirit is the love that lives within my soul. 

He is the best escape that anyone can pursue.. without ever leaving home.

It’s Him. It’s always Him

Join me, earbuds in.. music on.. layback .. and .... meditate on Him.  Warning ⚠️ your life may never be the same.  

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Photo Design & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube 

Kari Jobe - Favorite Place (Live)

Kari Jobe - Favorite Place (Live)

The meaning of bleed: to lose blood from the vascular system, either internally into the body or externally through a natural orifice or break in the skin:

There are approximately 18 verses in the Bible that reference the word bleed.

When I think of the word bleed. I felt I needed to go deeper than just a superficial wound. We have all been taught to care for a wound. Clean it. Dress it. And wait for healing. Have you ever given it any thought of how the wound heals? I noticed that the wound heals from the inside out, one layer at a time. 

But what happens when it is our heart that bleeds? How do we clean the wound? How do we dress it? How does it heal? My experience is not in the medical field. But I have a relationship with an amazing healer! He had many years of experience. Many say He has had this gift for centuries. He has healing powers unlike anyone here on earth. He has been know to heal the wound with just one touch. I have been physically touched by His power. I call it my miracle.

But how does He heal a bleeding heart? I again can speak from my experience. When the heart is wounded by the action of another it does begin to bleed. The soul becomes sad. The mind begins to focus on the pain and the how why and who caused the pain... It can become all-consuming and even cause the body to fail.

God knows that we must go through the pain in order to understand the magnitude of the victory. We call it growth. His healing process heals us from within one layer at a time. During this process, He will open our hearts. I have been known to say, He has circumcised my heart. He will teach us many things about love, life, and forgiveness. The good the bad and even the ugly...

But mostly He will teach us about ourselves!! The faster we face and embrace His teachings the faster we can heal. He has promised to hold our hearts as He speaks words of love to our souls. But we must be willing to take the medicine He has prescribed. He promises to gently hold us, as He speaks love to our soul.

So I can only recommend: Let go, clear your heart of all negative thoughts, let go of hate, and discord.. Make room for His love. The heart will continue to bleed unless you invite Him in… Be open to His miracle of LOVE…His love can and does stop the bleeding.. He will heal the wound.. from the inside.. out.. And your heart will be free to LOVE without boundaries and to your amazement, you find that you have learned to love past the pain. 

Do not be a bleeding heart!!! Call HIM. Your heart will be freed, It will be healed. And your life with Him will be better than you can ever dream of!! Love has so many healing properties… I can not imagine our life without Him and His deep, deep beautiful love. 

It's Him, It's always Him.

Jesus knows from experience the best medicine for a bleeding heart is LOVE. Because it points Him to our Heavenly Father. The one that knows every intimate detail about us, every life trial we will face, every failure, and every victory ... He even knows how you will respond to His teachings. 

It's Him! It's definitely Him !! 

He is the loving healer of my heart and soul. It up to us to let Him in….He does make house calls.. 365 days a year day or night, rain or shine. 

She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and ... But as Jesus heads for Jairus' house to heal his daughter, the crowd is especially thick. ... She has decided in her heart, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed" (Mark 5:28)

But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.1 John 1- 4:8  

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. John 1- 4:16 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner 

Bible Verses from KJV, ESV / Sinner's Prayer

Book Image: Words of Jesus for Every Day Living by Christain Art Publishers

Inspiring music from YouTube 

JERMAINE EDWARDS AND BRANDIN REED-HEAL MY HEART (LIVE)