My autographed books would make great gifts for children and Adults! They can be purchased at http://www.covenantessentials.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?field-keywords=Christine+Gilliam+Hornback&url=search-alias%3Daps
Thanksgiving Remembrance!
With Thanksgiving being this week, I have much to be thankful for. I have been reading sentimental blogs and seeing many different post and signs about counting my blessings! The wonderful part is that as I began to count, the list goes on and on without end! I become overwhelmed with the Lord’s goodness to me and my family. I cannot count all of His blessings because they are continuing this very moment with every breath I take, or every time I blink or every time I can feel my heart beat, or the fact that I have a sound mind, and that I can talk, walk, see, hear, feel, believe, etc…again the list goes on and on. So I wanted to try to focus on just one of his many blessings to me which is the gift of remembrance! Now I am not one to live in the past. However, I believe because I took the time to remember and thank the Lord for his blessings to me in the past, that He can now use my memories to catapult my faith to receive what He wants to do for me now! Yes I know that what I just said was a mouth full. Basically it all boils down to this: If the Lord has ever done anything for you in the past, He will do it again! My Pastor once preached a message that I’ve never forgotten about remembering. His message in a nutshell was that “Miracles erase options for the believer!” What he preached on was the fact that once the Lord performs a miracle in your life, that it is something that is concreted into your spirit. You are never the same, and hopefully as Pastor preached “You will remember!” You will remember the miracle when the next trail comes or the next obstacle comes because if the Lord did it once for you, he’ll do it again….Always! That settles it…. There is no changing in God, he is the same yesterday, today and forever! So maybe this Thanksgiving you may need a miracle in an area of your life, be it spiritual, physical, or financial. I hope that you will begin as I did to count your blessings. It is my prayer that you become overwhelmed in realizing how truly great the Lord has been to you and let all of the miracles and blessings of your past erase all other options! My prayer is that you will trust the Lord once again and watch him come speedily to your rescue as He has done in the past! Perhaps you are someone who does not know the Lord that I am speaking about. Forgive me that many times I assume that people just know about Jesus, Lord and Savior! If you do not know Him, however, I invite you to realize that if you are reading this blog, then it is my belief that there are no coincidences. Simply invite Him into your heart! If I was a person who gambled, I would wager that if you took the time to look over your life, that there would be many times that you actually could see that He came to your rescue. Yes you may have thought it all coincidence, but I hope that this Thanksgiving, that you will come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior! Perhaps even thank Him that He set you up with this blog about Thanksgiving by providing you an awesome opportunity to meet Him! Salvation through Jesus Christ is the greatest “Miracle that will erase options for the believer!”
Come out of Hiding!
Matthew 5:15 (KJV) Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
With Christmas fast approaching, I was thinking about all of the beautiful Christmas lights going up everywhere. They are so beautiful and are sending forth a message that the Celebration of Jesus’ birth is coming! The three wise men travelled to find Jesus as they followed the brightness of the light of a star! Light is mentioned over and over in the Bible as it alludes to the true Light which was Jesus!
John 1:4 (KJV)In him was life; and the life was the light of men
Are you shining a light or are you hiding in secret hoping no one will notice you in a room. My understanding of this scripture may be a little different from yours, but in my thinking, Jesus is simply stating that what I have from him which is his life and light is in me to bring light into dark places. Isn’t that what Jesus did? He was the light of the world and came when the world was filled with “gross darkness.” When we share his love and life we too are bringing light into the darkness!
As I was invited to speak at a wonderful church last night there were things about me that could not be hidden. If you’ve followed my blogs then you know that I’ve stated many times that I am a Kentuckian that moved to Georgia. When I speak there is no hiding the fact that I come from the South! I have a slow southern drawl that I couldn’t hide even if I wanted to. The minute I utter the first word, the light is shown and the crowd can conclude “Yes she is definitely from the South!” I used to be intimidated by others and what they thought of me. However, after many opportunities opened unto me to speak, Jesus helped me to not be concerned about what others may think. I am not trying to sound arrogant, but I know that the Lord fills my mouth to share what he places in my heart! He continues to give me open doors and speaking engagements!
When I was a child we used to sing a little song entitled “This little light of mine!” Perhaps you sung it in your Sunday school class. We would sing “ we were going to let our little lights shine all over the world!” As a child it was simply a song to me, but as I became an adult I realized the significance of the lyrics to that song. It’s not just a cute little song, but it is truly our commission from the Lord when he left.
Mark 16:15 (KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
He told us to go into all of the world and basically shine our lights. We are to do what he did while he was on the earth! You may be asking “Well how to I do that, I am only one person?” My answer to you is to simply start where you are at. I may shine my light differently than you do as we all have different gifts and talents, but nevertheless we have a commission from the Lord himself! I find that to be so exciting and adventurous! No matter where the Lord has placed you, realize that you are strategically placed there to shine a light! I love the following scripture: Mark 20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen!
He is with us, he will work with us to fulfill what he has placed in our hearts to do! I encourage you …..Come out of hiding and Shine your Light!
Challenge!
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (KJV) Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest
Is it just me, or does the years seem to be going by faster? As of this day that I am writing this blog, there are only forty-five days left in the year of 2014! I don’t know about you, but I always try to examine my year to see if I have passionately pursued the desires in my heart and done what the Lord had called me to do. I don’t do this so that I can beat myself up if I didn’t quite meet every goal, but rather I do it because it teaches me life lessons that I can’t learn any other way! When I take the time to think about what I spent my time on, I can see some very rewarding things that I’ve done, but on the other hand there will be other things that didn’t quite work out. If I honestly evaluate the things that didn’t quite work out the way that I wanted them to, I can usually use them as good teachers that will help me in the year to come!
When I look to the New Year I like to think of it as if it is an action adventure in a brand new chapter of a book that has yet to be written. I guess it is the writer in me, but I find the new adventure to be very exciting! Although the steps I am beginning to take can be somewhat unfamiliar, this to me is what makes life worth living and stirs up my passion to pursue it with all my might! I love that with the Lord, I get more chances at reaching the goals that I may not have reached before in the previous year! He redeems my time so nothing is wasted!
Even though I have published four books before, I am excited to be preparing another one! It’s like having a new baby! I know that I have to take care of it, but it does not mean that I necessarily know how. I cannot always do the same with this baby as my last! Every child is different! You just sort of play it by ear and let the baby tell you what it needs. More than I want to promote the fact that I am working on a new book, I really want to promote the message behind the books that I have written and will continue to write! I have a passion and a desire to encourage others to follow their dreams, no matter how crazy they may seem. I am a farm girl who was born and raised in a small little rural community in Kentucky. Why would I, of all people, be chosen to write books? My answer is simply this…because I said YES! If I, of all people can write books and be published, then there is no limit to what you can do… What is your passion? If you do not know what your passion is, then this blog is your divine challenge! Until you know what you truly desire to do and are passionate about, then you will spend much of your life (years) being unfulfilled and very unhappy. However, when you know what your passion is and the Lord co-labors with you in fulfilling your purpose, there is nothing more rewarding and satisfying!
So this is the challenge! I know that I’ve said a lot, but it all boils down to: What is in your heart to do?
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (KJV) Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
It sounds to me like you have been created to do something passionately with your life and that you are to do it with all your might! This blog is one of my attempts to passionately pursue what is in my heart! I hope that you will follow suit and arise to the challenge to pursue your passion as well, no matter how outrageous or crazy it may seem!
Treasure on the Inside!
I know that sometimes changing things up a bit is not always easy for people to accept, however I feel that it is change that makes life so interesting! Because I feel this way, for this week’s blog and with Thanksgiving and Christmas being right around the corner, I decided to post something a little different! I hope that you will enjoy it! Yeah, well I could already hear in my hearing someone stating that “Thanksgiving has not come yet, and here is this lady writing about Christmas!” I know that this post is about Christmas, but it is really not just about Christmas, but it is about every season in our lives! If you read my blog last week, then you know that I wrote of Thanksgiving! Also I decided to post my Nativity picture because it represented some of the change that I so frequently blog about. The painting is an old antique window that I painted a few years back. It might not be that great, but it was a time of stretching or change for me. I had never attempted to paint faces before and because of that I am pleased with it!
Treasure on the Inside!
To look on my outward appearance
You may not be impressed,
There may not be much beauty, poise,
or gracefulness.
But take another look, please, look
deep and look wide,
For what I may lack on the outward
is hidden treasure inside.
No longer hidden though
is my greatest heart’s desire,
I want to live from the inside
out for others to admire.
For inside this vessel a living treasure
Not acquired by myself,
But hidden on the inside is a kingdom
of infinite wealth!
A priestly King from Heaven, a Holy seed
Born through virgin loins,
To demonstrate the Father’s love
That many children could be born.
A holy child given unto the world on a starry Christmas night
Hark the herald angels sing praise in abiding shepherd’s hearing
A Heavenly Father’s greatest present freely was in sight
A celebration in my heart as I counted his gift so endearing
I accepted his sacrifice of the punishment meant for me
A kingdom that was purchased not with sweat on brawl
Jesus now my savior that was hung upon a tree
By the shedding of Holy blood no other was endowed.
The Father’s holy gift is still being offered in each and every season
As a precious treasure for all to freely accept and to receive
His heart was to love you; His gift is for this reason
His invitation to be a member of his family for those who will simply believe!
Authorartistmomof2 
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