"Perfect Patty Isn't Perfect At All"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard

Now all of you know by now I am very transparent when it comes to sharing things in my life….well….the other day I received a rather disturbing piece of mail that took me back to 3 years ago in my life! I truly thought that chapter of my life had been closed, filed and set ablazed but there I was….fuming and ready to draw blood! Sis. Sweet, Kind-hearted, Loving….Saved & Sanctified Paula had an anger issue!

I’m reminded of Romans 12:3 that says: “For by the Grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of Faith God has given you.” I just knew I had it going on…and as my Daddy says…and on my way to Glory! Who me…..that angry with someone…..no way……yes way!!!

As I was preparing for my homicide support group session, I came across a group exercise entitled “Anger Fountain”. Here’s how it works: each participate is asked to think of someone they are angry at and collect a stone from a small fountain (I’m going to use a vase). When the participants have their hands filled with stones, they will be asked to make a circle and join hands with others in the support group. When they realize this cannot be done, it will be explained this happens when we hold on to anger and pain. We cannot reach out to others in Love. Inside the fountain (or the beautiful vase in our case) is God’s Love and should they choose, they could put their stones in the fountain so that God’s Love can help take the anger away! I thought WOW…it’s just like God because He knew I needed this exercise more than they do!

My friend and former supervisor, PamL sent me an email and in that email she encouraged me (that’s why it’s important to have Godly people in your life), Pam stated in her email:

Just remember…The devil hates to see you happy! You just had your 1st Anniversary (moving to Atlanta). You’re so happy and proud! The devil probably said “OH YEA!!!!...Take this one lady!!!!! Don’t let him do that. Think about how God saved you and Praise The Lord that He saved you from yourself. Now go give someone a compliment. Watch how the Holy Spirit will fill you up so much. Those negative feelings will drift away!!!! And you’ll be all great!! I can promise!

Y’all…..I wanted to make a couple of phone calls and tell some people off, but thank God I didn’t! Come to find out, the paper I received in the mail….it was sent to me in error…a communications error between two offices! It makes me wonder though….was it a test or what….and if it was….can I honestly say I passed the test????

I like the Amplified version of 2 Corinthians 13:11: “Finally, brethren, farewell (rejoice)! Be strengthened (perfected, completed, made what you ought to be); be encouraged and consoled and comforted; be of the same [agreeable] mind one with another; live in peace, and [then] the God of love [Who is the Source of affection, goodwill, love, and benevolence toward men] and the Author and Promoter of peace will be with you.”

It’s important we stay Prayed up…walking in the Spirit so we won’t fall prey to the flesh (Galatians 5:16). We must be Spiritually minded and conscience of our words, actions and deeds! Just because we’re Saved….Sanctified….Filled with The Holy Ghost and Fire Baptized doesn’t mean we are exempt from “things”! I think “things” attack us more because of that fact, however, we have choices. We can either choose to hold on to the “stones” or whatever our “thing” may be….or we can trust God….let Him do the work He needs to do in us and in spite of how we may feel…..walk in Love!

Now I know this is kinda long, but I actually wrote this on 8/10 but had to add to it this morning because no sooner after I wrote this yesterday….I went home….and guess what…..test #2 came!!!! Today my cousin Minister LaKisha sent the Word for the day from Psalm 138:8 (NKJV): “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me….”Amen and Hallelujah for Jesus!!!!

Prayer for this day…Father…..perfect that which concerns me so I can walk in Love and Peace toward my Sisters and Brothers…..in Jesus’ Name I Pray…Amen!

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged,
Love ya,
Paula
© Copyright 8/11/2009
All Rights Reserved

P.S.
In case you are wondering about the title….I jokingly sometimes use a line Janet Jackson’s character says on Tyler Perry’s movie “Why Did I Get Married”…she says……“Perfect Patty messed up”! Perfect Patty isn’t perfect at all!

"Let Praise Get You Out Of The Pit"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard

"And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt." Genesis 37:26-28

Yesterday God placed in my Spirit a Word to share with each and every one of you today! I heard it from Pastor Jentzen Franklin before I went to Church and I heard it again from Pastor Jerome Carodine in Church...but The Word is..."LET PRAISE GET YOU OUT OF THE PIT"!

In the story of Joseph, The Dreamer, it was his brother…Judah (meaning Praise) who said to his brothers “What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites.” Joseph was then lifted out of the pit (because of “PRAISE”) and was taken to Egypt where he later became 2nd in command under Pharaoh!

Pastor Jerome's message yesterday was entitled "The Just Shall Live By His Faith"! People of God...all we have is our Faith in God! The world wants us to believe that we are living in a recession...but Faith says..."God shall supply all your needs” (Philippians 4:19)! The world says starting a business or owning a home right now is not a good idea...but Faith says..."You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you" (Philippians 4:13)! The world says they are bracing for swine flu....west nile and all other diseases that might hit....but Faith says...."no plague shall come nigh thy dwelling" (Psalm 91:10)!

I want to encourage you....no matter what you are faced with today...PRAISE YOUR WAY OUT OF THAT SITUATION...NO MATTER WHAT THE DEVIL THROWS YOUR WAY...LET PRAISE GET YOU OUT OF THE PIT......GET OUT OF THE PIT OF DEPRESSION....GET OUT OF THE PIT OF LACK....GET OUT OF THE PIT OF DOUBT...FEAR AND SICKNESS.....PRAISE YOUR WAY EVEN BEFORE YOU SEE WHAT THE END GON' BE…...LIVE BY FAITH…...WALK IN FAITH....SPEAK FAITH......FAITH SAYS IN SPITE OF.....BECAUSE OF IT ALL....THROUGH IT ALL.....I'M GON' LEAN…TRUST AND DEPEND ON GOD!!!!

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged....
Love ya,
Paula
© Copyright 8/3/09
All Rights Reserved

"God Looks At Your Heart"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard


"But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

My Cousin, Minister LaKisha Williams made a post on Facebook this morning that inspired me to write.....Minister LaKisha wrote:

"The world sees what you do. God sees WHY you do it." WOW!

The text Scripture states....while we (man) look at the outer appearance, God looks at the heart. God knows our intents....HE knows our motives....God knows what we are going to do before we even do it!

I love reading and talking about David. Now, David did some terrible things in his lifetime but however terrible they might have been, David had a heart and a desire to seek and please God!

David says in Psalm 139:1-3 (NIV): "O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways."

David also says in Psalm 26:2 (NIV) "Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind." I don't have any deep Revelation other than....our walk with God is a heart thing!

Capitol One asks “what’s in your wallet”….the real question is….”what’s in your heart”??!!!!

Our deepest desire should be to please God! I Pray that after you read this you begin...no...we begin....to search our hearts! I Pray God remove any hindrances....anything that is contrary to His Word! I Pray God create in us a clean heart and renew in us a right spirit…may we be transformed….revived and a fresh Anointing fall upon us….in Jesus’ Name I Pray…Amen!

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged....

Love ya, Paula
© Copyright 7/31/09
All Rights Reserved

"What's Your Motives"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard


"Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves." Philippians 2:3 (Amplified)

How many know that when it comes to money and egos..some people will trip in a heartbeat.....including family!!!

Another Warrior shared what she thought was a Prayer request, however, before we hung up the phone, Holy Spirit had already revealed to both of us that it was her experience....her Testimony (good or bad)....that needed to be shared with The Body of Christ!

Background: Sis. "X" was approached by her sister to start a business adventure between the two of them. Sis. "X" agreed and so they opened their business together. It was agreed upon and understood by both of them, that because Sis. "X" had a full-time job they were equal partners, and Sis. "X" would contribute before and after her work hours. Sis. "X" also was responsible for the leg work'' picking up supplies as well as being "the front" until the profits rolled in.

Her sister started telling people "it's MY business"..."I" did this...and "I" did that.....with her it was "me"..."me"..."me"...her true motives were revealed! She used her sister to get things started and once that happened...bye...bye...sister good bye...she didn't need her anymore! WOW!

Point blank.......when we do someone a favor, do we do it from our heart in Love expecting nothing in return.....or.....do we see it as leverage or money in the bank we can withdraw from at a later time....in other words..do we have a hidden agenda.....straight up.....what's the method to our madness?

Now, I know the topic is about motives, but Holy Spirit is leading me in two different directions right now. People of God we've got to look beyond our own selfish......personal..."me-man" mentality and walk together in UNITY...HARMONY....and LOVE and allow others to see Christ in all we do!

Amos 3:3 says, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Ecclesiastes 4:12 "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." There is strength in UNITY! When we stand together...band ourselves together in Christ....no devil in hell or nothing can come against us!

My friend and fellow writer, Sharon wrote in one of her motivations "Good question to ask ourselves: Now that I am saved and heaven bound, how will the things I do strengthen or weaken my witness? www.godsbigneighborhood.com Archives: 7/16/09

What would happen if we never heard from the person we've done a favor from again or if that person never acknowledges us for what we did........what would we do? Would we take OFFENSE? Would we allow anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment and any other negative adjectives to fester and take root in our hearts because WE feel he/she is obligated to us?

Matthew 6:3-4 "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly."

So why have we done or do the things we do? Does it bring Glory to God? Ephesians 6:6 says, "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." Our actions.....our favors....our only motive (for a lack of better words) should be to do the will of our Father in Heaven!

I always tell my son.....you can never give account for how someone treats you but you WILL give account for how you treat others!!!!! As long as you know your heart is right...and what you've done...you did out of love.....and you don' done what The Lord tol you fa' do.....you are as the hip hoppers say.....scraight!!!!

As for Sis. "X".....she's rejoicing in The Lord knowing she did the right thing and what she did...she did out of love! Even as we spoke today, Holy Spirit took control of the conversation and God's Words....not her words...not words of anger or plots of revenge, but God's Words sprung forth out of her mouth!!!!! TGBTG!!!!

Let's ask ourselves.....what's my motive?

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged.......
Love ya,
Paula
© Copyright 7/17/09
All Rights Reserved

"Looking At IT.....From A Different Perspective"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard

"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are Eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

My husband and I love strawberry mini-bagels, which I, for some odd reason, can only seem to find at Walmart. The other day after I dropped my son's friend home who spent the weekend with him, I figured I'd stop at the Panola Rd Walmart. Well I've never been in that store but I assumed.......you've seen one Walmart you've seen them all right? WRONG!!! I got turned around in the store. Compared to the Gresham Rd and College Park stores, Panola's breads was in the wrong place!

After walking up and down several aisles and from the produce/meat side to the aisle that separates the food from the clothes....I found out the breads were wwwaaayyy in the back across from the diary products! I wondered.....why did I have to walk all the way to the other side to see what I thought I had already seen.....I then heard in my Spirit......you had to look at it from a different perspective!

Many people are faced with challenges and issues that appear to be very, very ugly! Some are in situations they never....ever...never ever...ever thought or dreamed they would be! Situations in which they think it should be this way.....but it turns out.....it's that way! They confess.....by His stripes I'm healed but their body says "I'm hurting, I'm hurting"! They confess my God shall supply all my needs but then baby needs a pair of shoes and they get a light bill....gas bill and cell phone bill too! They confess as for me and my house we will serve The Lord, yet child and/or spouse is acting like they don' fell and bumped their heads! They confess I've got the mind of Christ yet they are walking around depressed and stressed. What's a Child of God to do?

The text Scripture lets us know......in spite of what your circumstances looks like....in spite of what the bank account says or how funny your money or hilarious it might be......in spite of what you're going through...look at "it"....whatever your "it" might be....look at it from a different perspective!

You can look at it this way: what the enemy means for evil, God will turn around for your good! What you think is a set back is actually a set up for you to recieve your Blessings! Look at your situation and circumstances working FOR you and NOT against you!!! One of my favorite Scriptures that I stand on says, ".....ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR YOUR GOOD! (Romans 8:28)

Trust God! Believe His Word and never doubt.....keep your focus on God and let Him see you through.....when you let go and let God....youll begin to see "it" from a whole new perspective!

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged.....
Love ya,
Paula
© Copyright 7/15/09
All Rights Reserved

P.S.
This just hit me this morning! Every morning I drive through a heavily populated area filled with homeless people. How many times have we, who have a roof over our head....a car...a job....how many times have we complained about we have?????????

"If You Believe You Can Achieve"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" Phillipians 4:13

At the beginning of the school year (6th grade) my son Jaquan made goals; verbally and in Prayer to 1. make A/B Honor Roll and 2. have perfect attendance. Well, today, Jaquan came home and said his main goal had been accomplished, he made A/B Honor Roll ending this school year with an average of 85! He didn't make perfect attendance shy of one day because the poor boy wasn't feeling well and just couldn't make it that one day, however, in my book he gets an "E" for effort!

I've always admired Jaquan's Faith! One day I asked him, "when you Pray do you believe that what you Pray for is going to happen? Straight up he said...YES!!!!

Since I first wrote about it at the age of 6, Jaquan has always maintained his "child-like Faith"! His Faith, unlike some of us adults/seasoned Saints, his Faith is not tainted with doubt, fear and unbelief! All he knows is when he Prays in Faith, God answers! I remember one time when I asked him to Pray, the boy blew my mind! After that, I wanted him to lead the Prayers all the time!

Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV) says, "Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." All we have to do is exercise our child-like Faith, Faith the size of a mustard seed, and watch God do what His Word says HE will do!

I just wanted to take out this time to say BIG-UP to Jaquan and encourage others: if you believe....you can achieve!

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged,
Love ya,
Paula
©Copyright 5/12/09
All Rights Reserved

"Let It Work For You"

Motivations from the Heart of Paula Williams-Gaillard


"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:2-4

This morning I heard a song for the first time on the radio that ushered me into Praise & Worship (please don't ask me who sings the song or the title). In the song, the songwriter wrote about the adversities he faced in life. He wrote if he had never gone hungry, or if he had never ran out of money, he would not know God as Jehovah Jireh. If he had not gotten sick, he would not know God is a Healer. If he had never gotten his heart broken, he would not know God as a mender of broken hearts, in other words, the songwriter was thankful....inspite of it all....through it all...because of it all....he was THANKFUL because ALL things worked together for his good!

Last week after game 3 of the Cleveland/Atlanta play-off series, I watched an interview with LeBron James and a sports announcer. During the interview, the announcer asked LeBron how he felt about the adversities his team faced in game 3. LeBron, who's answer inspired me stated (and I'm paraphrasing of course) but he stated he didn't mind the adversities, adversity was a part of the game, but what was important for him and his team was how they reacted to the adversities which made the difference! WOW!

SAINTS.....adversities, afflictions, problems, trials, tests, temptations, and tribulations.....you can rest assure, all these things will come, but what makes the difference is how we react to them!

See....we can either go through adversities with JOY and on God's strength knowing after we cast ALL our cares upon Him, in the end ALL things will work for our good, or we can go through them resentful and ungrateful, thinking the proverbial "S" on our chest makes us invincible like "Superman" then we get mad at God and the world because we find out later the "S" is an acronym for-STUPID!

Our attitude, latitude and gratitude makes the difference! Attitude-do we Praise God in the midst of adversity knowing the battle is not ours, it's The Lord's or do we have a "fuzzy-wuzzy-was-a-bear" pity party hoping everyone will feel sorry for us? Latitude-do we look to God Who is our VERY PRESENT HELP IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE or do we look to Dr. Feel Good to give us answers that can ONLY come from God and finally Gratitude-do we Thank God even in the midst of adversity knowing the trying of our faith worketh patience..... that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing"?

James doesn't say in the text Scripture to mope....grumble....or give up...he said.....COUNT IT ALL JOY!!! Let that thing (that adversity) work on your behalf! Let it build character and endurance....patience in you! Let it work for your good so that in the end, you'll say without a doubt...THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD AND I SHALL NOT WANT.....GLORY...HE IS MY JEHOVAH JIREH!!!! Let it complete you, let it stretch you....let it permeate and resonate in your heart, mind and soul so come what may...no matter what, you can say like Paul "IN HIM I LIVE....MOVE AND HAVE MY BEING"!

I Pray that even in the midst of what you may be facing today, you always remember God is there! The Psalmist says in Psalm 139:7-8 "Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there." God is here.....there and everywhere! OH HIS ARMS ARE STETCHED OUT WIDE....HE IS WILLING....ABLE AND READY TO CARRY YOU THROUGH!!!!!!

You are already Blessed so be Encouraged,
Love ya,
Paula
©Copyright 5/12/09
All Rights Reserved