"Back Track...Back Track...It Is He"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard

"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands." Deuteronomy 8:2

Have any of you ever had one of those moments where you attempt to do something but then right before you get to where you think you are going.....you forget what you were supposed to do.....WELL....that was me today! The funniest part about it all.....I had the nerve to ask our high school intern what it was I had to do...it wasn't until I retraced my steps that I remembered what it was I had to do!

Holy Spirit reminded me that sometimes we need to back track and remember where God has brought us from! Now, I'm not saying that we should dwell on or try to re-live the past, however, God wants us to remember "....it is He". Deuteronomy 8:18

Sometimes we get so caught up in our present day circumstances....we forget that God...who brought us through this.....and took us through that....that He is still God and because He "change not" (Malachi 3:6 ).....just as HE worked it out way back when... my Brothers & Sisters...HE SURE IS ABLE TO DO IT AGAIN!

Stop stressing about that situation....stop loosing sleep....stop trying to fix it yourself.....stop trying to rely on man to do what only God can.......stop thinking the "dollar and a dream" lottery will give you that big pay off or that you have to be in it to win it.......God is your Source....He is your Jehovah Jireh....He is El Shaddai....more than enough! Back track....back track....remember what He did yesterday....remember what He did last week...last month....last year....10 years ago.....remember how He made a way when you thought there was no way....remember how He Blessed Momma and dem when they didn't have a proper education or PhD or when they didn't make 6 figure salaries but feed all their kids and Babe kids too.....remember how Jesus' Resurrection took the sting out of death so you and I can have Eternal Life.....remember when your body was rackin' in pain and the doctors said there was no hope...HE did it......HE did it....God delivered you...God saved you....God brought you through and because He brought you through before.....He'll do it again.....He's "...the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Hebrews 13:8

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged....

Love ya,

Paula

©Copyright 7/14/2010

All Rights Reserved

"But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." Deuteronomy 8:18

"I Ain't Afraid Of No Po-Po"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard


"Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." Hebrews 13:17

Sing wit me now..."Bad boys...bad boys...what ya gon' do...what ya gon do when they come for you.....bad boys...bad boys"!

This morning afar off...I could see that someone was pulled over by the police....as I quickly approached them....I said to myself...."why am I slowing down....what can he (the Po-Po) do to me"....myself answered back and said....."well Ms. Thing......if you keep on speeding like you are....you are going to be the next one pulled over and you'll get a big fat ticket"....y'all know this Sister mashed on the brake quick fast and in a hurray!

Police Officers serve and protect citizens.... they are what we consider....AUTHORITY figures! They have the authority to arrest people and throw them in jail....the have the authority to ticket people and they even have the authorityto tow cars and put someone out of their home...if deemed necessary! We give a lot of respect to the authority of Police Officers but why....OH-OH here it comes.....but why as Children of God...don't we give the same kind of respect to our Spiritual Leaders whom God has placed over us? OUCH!

God is a God of order! He has placed Spiritual Leaders/Pastors aka "Under Shepherds" (Jesus is the TRUE SHEPHERD) over us who "watch over our souls". They are given AUTHORITY to lead God's Sheep and to lead with knowledge and understanding! God says in Jeremiah 3:15: "Then I will give you Shepherds after My own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding."

Romans 13:1-3 (NLT) says: "Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you."

Karen Wolf gives 4 steps in her article entitled: The Ultimate Definition of Respect: Submitting to and Respecting Authority" Practical Steps for Respecting Authority:

1. Start by reading and learning what God says about respecting authority. Find out just what he thinks and how much importance he places on your willingness and your attitude about it. When you discover that God will only give you authority over others when you show that you can come under authority yourself, perhaps things will look a little different to you.

2. Pray for those in authority over you. Ask God to guide them as they fulfill their tasks. Pray that their hearts would seek God as they make decisions. Ask God to show you how you can be a blessing to those in authority over you.

3. Set the example for the people around you. Show them what submitting to authority for the right reasons is supposed to look like. Don't participate in back-biting, gossiping, or criticizing your bosses or others in authority. There is nothing wrong with having constructive conversations, but there is a fine line between offering your opinion and becoming disrespectful.

4. Understand and know ahead of time that you are not going to like every decision. If you look at the responsibility and accountability that exists within the role of your leaders, it should become clear that the scope of their authority affects more than just you and your circumstances. There are times when decisions will negatively impact you. But just remember that how you react to these times will determine how quickly God puts you in a position of authority over others.

Do we agree with everything our Leaders say....NO....do we even like what our Leaders say...DOUBLE NO....do all Leaders lead by good examples...TRIPLE NO.......however the case may be....we are mandated to RESPECT and SUBMIT to those who have rule over us and apart from that....well...that's between them and God!

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged....
Love ya,
Paula
©Copyright 7/8/2010
All Rights Reserved

"God Uses What HE Chooses"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard

"And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you that you should strike me these three times?" Numbers 22:28

I know the people in the glass building were looking at me this morning wondering what in the world is wrong with that woman! As I was walking into work I was laughing and smiling because a license plate spoke to me this morning!!!

Now, I'm sure you're wondering too...what's wrong with Paula...she don' bumped her head or somethin'...NO..the license plate DID speak..or should I say....ministered to me!

Okay let me back up a minute.....almost every morning after I drop off "Kid" (that's what PamS calls him) and hubby...I turn the radio off so I could "have a little talk with Jesus". I thanked Him in advance for what He has done and is about to do in my life and just after I finished...as I pulled into my parking spot I noticed an SUV parked across from me with a license plate on the front that said: "Shhhh...God Got This"

DUH...I didn't have to be Balaam to understand...God used that license plate as a ministering tool! WOW!

I rec'd an email from one of my Spiritual Mentors today and in it Pastor Charles Spurgeon says: "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand." Watch not the clouds, consult not the wind-in season and out of season witness for the Saviour, and if it shall come to pass that for Christ's sake and the gospel's you shall endure suffering in any shape, shrink not, but rejoice in the honour thus conferred upon you, that you are counted worthy to suffer with your Lord; and joy also in this-that your sufferings, your losses, and persecutions shall make you a platform, from which the more vigorously and with greater power you shall witness for Christ Jesus."

Look....in the past....at times my life was turned upside down..I had heartache after heartache...disappointment after disappointment...lack (plenty of it)....low self esteem....no purpose......at times I felt like I had no hope....BUT.....(I like that word...BUT)....NOW IT'S MY TIME...MY SEASON....IN SPITE OF....OTHERS WHO KNEW MY PAIN...KNOW MY STORY...THEY CAN LOOK AND SEE WHERE GOD HAS BROUGHT ME FROM...NOW MY LIFE IS A LIVING TESTIMONY FOR CHRIST'S GLORY AND TO HIS HONOR!

Sooooo....like the license plate said.....I'm gon' Shhhh until I see the manifestations of His Promises....I'm gon' Shhhh until HE who has begun a good work in me complete it.....I'm Shhhh...."Just Sit Still"....wait on The Lord.....continue to stand on His Word....and REST IN HIM....I'm not going to try to make things happens or wish for things to happen...I'M REJOICING AND THANKING GOD BECAUSE HE GOT THIS!!!!!

Peace.....I'm out!!!!

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged...and OH....... remember.... "Shhhh...God Got This"
Love ya,
Paula
© Copyright 11/25/09
All Rights Reserved

"Don't Let Your Circumstances Dictate Your Praise"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard


I'm gon' try to make this quick because I just got called into work....ON MY DAY OFF...UGH!

Anyways...this morning as I drove my son to school...I started flipping through radio stations. The first station I got to was Gospel station, I sang along with the song that was on and then I flipped to another station, which played secular music (I was actually hoping to hear one of Nephew Tommy's pranks).

The station I landed was playing a song (and I don't know the title) but the song says ....sometimes love knocks you down...then you get back up and it knocks you down.....knocks you down...(something like that)....well, as I was listening to the song, I just started PRAISING GOD out loud! I mean, I was saying GLORY....HALLELUJAH...THANK YOU JESUS while this song was playing. Now my little Prophet (who should have known better..LOL) looked over at me and asked, "Momma, how can you find that song Holy....that's not a Gospel song"....my reply, "I don't need a Gospel song in order to PRAISE GOD.....I can PRAISE GOD in the midst of this stuff...the circumstances around me doesn't determine my PRAISE...it doesn't dictate my PRAISE...God rises above what's around me and my circumstances...so that's why I can Praise HIM!" WOW!

I'm about to eat something and head on to work, but People of God....LOOK HOW MANY TIMES SATAN DON' KNOCKED YOU DOWN...BUT WHO WAS THERE TO PICK YOU UP....Proverbs 24:16 SAYS, "FOR THOUGH A RIGHTEOUS MAN FALLS SEVEN TIMES, HE RISES AGAIN..."DON'T LET YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES DICTATE YOUR PRAISE....LET YOUR PRAISE DICTATE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES....GIVE GOD A JUDAH PRAISE AND WATCH PRAISE GET YOU OUT OF THE PIT!!!!!!

You are already Blessed....so be Encouraged...
Love ya,
Paula
© Copyright 10/23/09
All Rights Reserved

Singing to the tune from Snow White....I GO...I GO..IT'S OFF TO WORK I GO!

"You're Covered"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard

"In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" Ephesians 1:7

If you see tons of mistake in this motivation, charge it to the head and not the heart....it's 4:30 in the A.M. and I am still trying to get the sleep out of my eyes...T.M.I. I know!

Well, I was awakened by a dream and although I tried to convince myself I could write about it later, Holy Spirit said otherwise!

I'll try to make this brief but my dream was centered in the neighborhood where I grew up. In one of the houses on the block, some men tried to take over the house. I wasn't about to let that happen so me and these men got into a "verbal" altercation. One thing led to another, and I had to let them know that I wasn't afraid and if I had something to fight them with, I'd show them a thing or two.

Well, I guess the men didn't think I would do what I said because they threw me, of all things an umbrella. Well, I had to show them that I meant business so I went to swinging! I did as Matthew 11:12 says....."and the violent take it by force"! When it was all said and done, the men backed down and even wrote a letter of apology which they gave my big brother and even agreed to clean up the mess I had made! My big brother wasn't too pleased with me though, because all the while, while I was fussing and causing a ruckus, my big brother kept trying to tell me that I didn't need to do what I was doing because....he had things under control!

Now, I'm sure you're thinking....Paula must have eaten after midnight again.......but no! I couldn't get back to sleep because little by little, Holy Spirit pointed out some things about the dream:
1. The men obviously were the enemy.
2. My old neighborhood was the past.
3. The umbrella represents a covering.
4. My big brother.....he's Jesus!
5. The letter.....it's not an actual letter letter...it's the letter "t"....symbolic of THE CROSS!

Satan is devious in that he will try to use your past or whatever he can to get you to a breaking point. He often reminds you of what you used to do or how you used to be just to make you feel unworthy or inadequate. He tries to get you to feel that you don't belong or have any right to be called a Child of God yet alone any rights to the Promises and Covenant of God.

I was reminded after the dream, that when Jesus died on the cross, His death and His Love covers a multitude of sin (I Peter 4:8)! I was also reminded of Psalms 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

A song we sang back in the day during Communion says:

"I know it was the Blood, I know it was the Blood, I know it was the Blood for me....one day when I was lost...Jesus died upon the Cross...I know it was the Blood for me"!

You're covered People of God....You're covered! Satan already knows he's a defeated foe! When Christ died at the Cross, that was it for him! Oftentimes we fight...fuss and raise a muck when all we have to do is just plead the Blood of Jesus! I want to encourage you today.....let Jesus' Blood do the work for you!

You are already Blessed....so be Encouraged,
Love ya,
Paula
© Copyright 10/14/09
All Rights Reserved

Don't Allow Satan To Punk You

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard


"This Week....Don't Allow Satan To Punk You"

2 Corinthians 2:11: "Lest satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."

Now I know my title sounds a little strange....but the other day I heard Nephew Tommy from the Steve Harvey Morning Show "punk" someone on the radio. (For those of you who don't know...."punk" is just an urban word used when someone has fallen prey to a prank call).

Well.....Nephew Tommy picked the right one that day! This guy was so gullible....Nephew Tommy had him right where he wanted him! Nephew Tommy struck a nerve because I mean....that man became so unglued....he lost every ounce of couth he had....he started using more than 4 letters words...and I'm sure if he could have reached through the phone....Nephew Tommy would probably now be known as “TOOTHLESS TOMMY"!

I mentioned to another Warrior last week that satan's oldest and first trick began in the Garden of Eden with Eve. Satan wanted Eve to believe that God was holding something back from her and Adam! Eve got riled up and even got dumb Adam (ooooppss did I say that)...she got Adam caught up in the mess too! It was only afterwards.....after they fell for the "ole okie dokie" that we see.......Eve got punked!

Satan wants us to think....God is holding back on us! He'll place suggestions in our thoughts that our dreams....aspirations or the promises made to us by God is not going to happen. He'll taunt....tease and try to get us to that breaking point...and if we are not careful and hip to his devices...we could fall prey and also lose our cool....Faith....and start using bad words....Confessions.....that are contrary to what we know.....The Word of God!

I Pray this week.....you don't allow satan to mess with your head or get into your pysche...which is your thought life! Regardless to what suggestions he makes.....regardless to what it looks like....regardless to how you feel....regardless to how long it has taken...regardless to who don' walked and left you...regardless...don't fall for satan's ole okie dokie....don't allow satan to punk you!

Have a FABULOUS week!

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged....
Love ya,Paula
© Copyright 9/20/2009
All Rights Reserved
Email: Mspauladpoet@yahoo.com

"Handle Your Own Business"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5 (KJV)

My husband and I were at the neighborhood gas station this morning when I noticed a young lady, who after pumping her gas, left her gas tank door opened with the top hanging out. I quickly summoned my husband who was pumping our gas to stop the young lady. Well after yelling about 3 or 4 times for her to stop (guess she had the music loud) she did and her son got out of the car and screwed the cap back on and closed the door. As she drove off I told my husband “she didn’t even look our way or opened her mouth to say thank you.”

After I drove no more than a ½ block away, I heard a noise from the back of the car. When I looked in the side view mirror, I saw..…guess what…..our gas cap fly off the car onto the side of the road….in his haste to stop the young lady, hubby forgot to put the top on and close our tank’s door! All I could do was laugh and I told him, “you know I’m gon’ write about this right?!!!! That’s when I heard….YOU COULDN’T EVEN HANDLE YOUR OWN BUSINESS! I was rebuked in my spirit and Holy Spirit said:

1. What was your real motive? You told her about the door, so what if she didn’t say thank you…WHAT…..were you looking for some praise or something?
2. When you look at someone else’ shortcomings or what they do or don’t do, be careful because you don’t have it all together yourself!

WOW….Perfect Patty isn’t perfect at all….FORGIVE ME FATHER!!!!!!!!

I wrote a motivation not long ago entitled “What’s Your Motive” and it asks: why do we do the things we do? Do we do things out of sheer love and concern for others or do we look for a pat on the back…..recognition……fame or glory? And why…….myself included…but why are we so quick to look at what someone is doing or not doing when we ourselves don’t do it…….HYPOCRITE (Matthew 7:5)!

I looked on line and here’s a definition I found for hypocrite: “a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives” (www.thefreedictionary.com). There’s that word again MOTIVE!

People of God we have to LOVE one another! It is our duty….our obligation to edify and lift up one another and not be a stumbling block (Romans Chapter 14). We should be willing to restore (Galatians 1:1) even if they do fall…..and our speech….our words should always “minister Grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29)!

Galatians 6:10 (NIV) says “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers!

It is my Prayer today that WE not look at others in judgment but walk in Love towards ALL PEOPLE! Remember: Love is patient….kind…does not envy….does not boast…it is not proud….not rude….not self-seeking….not easily angered….it keeps no record of wrongs….does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth….it always protects…always trusts…always hopes….always perseveres...Love never fails...
I Corinthians 13:1-8 (NIV)

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged…..
Love ya,
Paula
© Copyright 9/9/09
All Rights Reserved