Good Morning and Welcome to 2025!
I pray your holidays were blessed and happy.

I received this beautiful book on Biblical Meditation from the publisher and let me tell you I am SO glad I did!

The author goes into great detail on the practice and benefits of Biblical meditation - slowing down, quieting the mind, hearing with the heart, deepening your spiritual practice and much, much more.

Focusing on the things we should "fix our thoughts on" from Philippians 4:8-9, Ms. Tucker gives us 3 or 4 scriptures in each category of thoughts we should cultivate (whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise) with a six-part framework for your meditation practice that guides you into silence, prayer, reading, meditating on and embodying God's word into your daily life.

Complete with an opening prayer and surrendering prayer and room to write what God is revealing to you through your time with Him, this lovely compilation will deepen your understanding of the Word and "grow your meditative muscles".

I highly recommend Present in Prayer to anyone who wants the blessings of Psalm 1, verse 3 to be evidnt in their life.

Until next time, happy meditating!
PamT

As another Christmas has come and gone with all the gifts received, large and small, and the New Year is in full swing, I thought this would be an appropriate topic. I’m not talking about the size of presents you received from family, friends or even Santa.

​I’m talking about the gift you received from our Heavenly Father.

Now we all know Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger – a trough or box that normally held feed for the animals – but I’m not even talking about that box!

I’m talking about the different boxes we put God into… Y’know the Sunday Morning / Wednesday Evening box or the I can handle this box or the God has too much to worry about that box.

Oh and what about the Judgment box by which we point fingers, cast blame, or otherwise shun and ostracize our brothers and sisters in Christ?

We even use the bible, His holy word, to confine God in neat little categories.

Something to think about…. God created the universe and upholds it in His left hand while He upholds every living creature in His right ~ Therefore, NO box can contain Him.

So stop trying!

There is no-thing too big or too small for God to handle and He loves you beyond measure, so stop boxing Him in with your limited understanding and inadequate imagination.

Ephesians 3:19-21 tells us…Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…

So, break down your boxes, enlarge your borders, magnify your vision, and expand your imagination to cooperate with God to be the best version of You possible!

Pamela S Thibodeaux
Inspirational with an Edge! ™

Happy Thanksgiving Folks!
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Jesus teaches us that with God ALL things are possible and that all things are possible to them that believe (See Matthew 19:25-27, Mark 9:22-24, Mark 10:26-28).
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Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.”

Why then do some things we desire, need or want seem impossible?

Is it possible this is because we block God’s blessings and talk ourselves out of miracles every day?

Is it possible we have deep-seated doubts and fears and feelings of unworthiness?

Is it possible the fire and brimstone preaching we’ve heard or experienced sometime in our life has caused us to fear God’s wrath more than believe in His love, grace, mercy and goodness?

Is it possible that we have so much guilt around asking God for what we truly desire that, even if He were to show up with that in hand as a free gift to us, we’d turn away?

Is it possible we’ve heard so many contradicting facts about who God is and what He can/will do that we just don’t know what to think anymore?

The Bible teaches us that the blessings of God shall chase us down and overtake us (see Deuteronomy 28:1-3), yet so many live in lack and poverty, sickness and disease!

Is it truly possible that if God said it and Jesus did it, we are supposed to live lives of abundance in every area?

I believe ALL of these explanations are possible and very possibly the root of our not receiving the gifts and blessings God has for us.

So how can we overcome these doubts, fears and negative concepts we’ve developed in our lives for whatever reason and open up to receive from God?

Here are a few ideas…

Pray. Don’t just pray for what you want, pray for God to open your eyes, ears, heart and hands so that you may see, hear, know and receive.

Listen. Often we pray/talk to God without taking time to listen for His response. Prayer should be a two-way conversation, not you talking to then walking away from Him.

Obey. Many times, we pray and listen but when God asks us to take action we disregard that part of the entire time of communion. The Bible teaches us we should be willing and obedient yet most of the time we are willing but not obedient or vice-versa. If you feel in your heart God is asking you to take some kind of action in order for Him to fulfill your desires and His plan, take it! Even if that means stepping out in faith despite your doubts and fears.

Meditate. A lot of folks shrink at the thought of spending time in meditation thinking they just don’t have hours to spare, but meditation can be as simple as closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths while opening your mind and heart to the Holy Spirit. Better yet, pick a Scripture that deals with one of the current situations or needs in your life and repeat it over and over in your mind while taking those deep breaths and watch God work.

Express Gratitude. I know, I know you are grateful but how often do you say it? How often do you say a simple “Thank You” to God or to people? Better yet, how often do you spend 10 minutes, an hour, or a whole day in an attitude of gratitude? Try this: For one hour write, “I am so happy and grateful that (or for) ---fill in the blank). If you don’t have an hour, write 1 page a day or 10 items or whatever, just do it! Once you’ve gotten into this habit, challenge yourself to keep gratitude uppermost in your mind for the day and see what doors open for you. After all, God’s not going to give you something else to complain about.

Sing. Yeah you heard that right. Sing a song about being happy. Find a couple songs and play them over and over in your vehicle and in your mind. Here are two that come to mind: Happiest Girl in the Whole USA by Donna Fargo, or Happy by Pharrell Williams (here’s the song/video on Youtube!) I dare you to listen to this and not be in a better mood! Better yet, make up a silly little ditty to express your own happiness, gratitude and praise to God. After all, the Bible tells us to make a “joyful noise” unto the Lord (Psalms 66, 81, 95, 98 & 100) and that God inhabits the praise of His people.

Try one (or all) of these simple exercises and see God work in your life. Now I’m not saying this is the cure-all for every problem in your life, but even if all these exercises do is make YOU feel better for an hour or a day…what can it hurt?

Something to think about...
“Inspirational with an Edge!” ™
"Coaching in PJs" ™

*©2014 Previously published as Pamela's Ponderings April 2014

As I’ve mentioned before I’ve been on a spiritual quest for most of my adult life. In 1989 I recommitted my life to Christ and since that moment have been asking, knocking and seeking, in all manner of ways, to know and experience more of Him.

Some may ask what He means to me and the long & short answer is: EVERYTHING.

How can I describe that which is indescribable?

Now many will look at some of the books and spiritual leaders I refer to and say that I’m not “Christ centered” or that I don’t have the “love of Christ” within me.

That both saddens and infuriates me.

Jesus said, “Judge not lest ye be judged.” So I challenge anyone to really look into my heart and tell me that!

True, I do read books other than the Bible and those written by ordained ministers.

Why?

Because I never want to miss a fresh anointing on the Word!

Yeah, but what about those ‘new age’ books like Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life & There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by Dr. Wayne Dyer, A Return to Love & The Law of Divine Compensation by Marianne Williamson, The Secret & The Magic by Rhonda Byrne and other such works by people I admire?

I can only speak for myself but it is all part of my soul journey.

What? What?

A soul journey?

Yeah.

I believe we are all here for a reason and one of main purposes is to not only learn how to live as Christ but, like Him, to be an expression of God’s goodness in the earth. Each of those books mentioned, and numerous not mentioned, have opened my heart and mind to understanding God and even scripture in a deeper way.

In the book E-squared by Pam Grout, she covered the subject of God/Jesus and mentioned that Jesus never said, “worship me” but “follow me” and there’s a huge difference in the two statements.

This made me wonder so I did a bible search on the phrase “worship me” and you know what?

She was right!

Only 4 Scriptures showed up with that phrase, 2 referred to Jesus being tempted during His 40 days in the desert (Matthew 4:9 & Luke 4:7) and the other two referred to worshipping Him in vain by “teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:9 & Mark 7:7).

These, in turn, led to the question of how much of what our preachers, teachers and ministers of “Christianity” tell us are actually just that… the teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.

Which do you think God/Jesus prefers…someone who adheres to the doctrines of men (even if they are biblically based) OR someone who loves Him and seeks Him with their whole heart, mind, & soul, regardless of the books they read?

After all, Jesus did say that God is “spirit” and those who worship Him will worship in spirit and in truth, and let’s face it, not everything we see and/or hear in conjunction with “Christianity” is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth…Nor the only truth.

JMHO of course.

Something to think about….
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“Inspirational with an Edge!” ™

*Originally published as Pamela's Ponderings ©Feb 2014

The question has been posed, integrity examined …. “Do you REALLY believe all this positivity stuff? Do you REALLY believe it can change a life?”

In John, Jesus said “This is the work of God, that you believe…” Now I know the Scripture goes on to say that we believe “on him whom He hath sent” meaning we are to believe in HIM. But think about it….

He also said, “Whatever you say when you pray, believe you have received, and it shall be given unto you.”

God told us in Deuteronomy that the power of life and death are in our tongue. So to answer the question, Yes, I believe….

I believe Jesus is my Lord and Savior but He is also my brother, friend and teacher. I believe God is the Almighty creator of the universe as well as my loving father who wants to bless me with the wildest dreams in my heart.

I believe God is much bigger than the boxes we put Him in, especially those outlined in the Bible. I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God but it has been written by man, filtered through human consciousness and subject to the circumstances and culture of the time. I believe there are depths and levels of faith and spirituality we may never understand but I also believe it pleases God when we try, ask questions, seek after answers, and knock on doors of knowledge.

I believe, next to love, gratitude is the greatest asset we can ever aspire to have. I believe fear is our biggest obstacle and judgment and guilt are useless wastes of energy. I believe we can rise above our circumstances and “call those things that be not as though they are” (actually the word here is were…. past tense as in been there, done that…so why is it those things we desire are not showing up in our life?)

I believe you can not have a positive life with a negative attitude. I believe, with the help of God, you can create a better life for yourself than anyone in your family has ever experienced. I believe selfishness is the root of all evil and that money is simply a means through which God blesses you so that you may be a blessing to others and thereby build His kingdom.

I believe love is the most powerful emotion and we are at our highest level of spirituality and closest to God when we give it freely, without expectation of reward.
I believe some people love their misery. They are comfortable in it and although they say differently, they really don’t want to change, but want others to change for them. This is the highest level of selfishness.

I believe you can’t change the past but you can change the future by your thoughts, words, emotions and actions of today.

I believe the past is over, the future isn’t here yet and today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the ‘present’ and we would do well to live fully in the moment. I believe our past may be a contributing factor in our lives today but with love, gratitude, and forgiveness, we can rise above the pain of that time and life a blessed and happy life.

I believe heaven is nearer than we think and our loved ones who’ve crossed over as near as our next thought and if we listen close enough, they will continue to speak to us and  if we let go of our preconceived notions of heaven being “out there somewhere”, we will experience it here on earth.

I believe life is 100% perception…how you perceive things is how they’ll be for you.

I believe with God all things are possible and nothing is impossible to them that believe…. Believe in God, believe in yourself, believe in your dreams, believe in your goodness, believe in your beauty, believe in the power of love, peace, joy, happiness, bliss.  Believe God is on your side and wants to bless you and quit speaking the opposite!

I believe we “eat the fruit” of our words. Speak negative (poverty, lack, sickness, disease) and you’ll attract those things into your circumstances. Speak positive and you’ll create a better life for yourself and those around you. I believe we give too much of our power to others by allowing them to control our thoughts, feelings and emotions.

I believe forgiveness unlocks the door to happiness and opens channels of blessing because when we forgive we become more like Jesus.

I believe when you heal your own life, you do your part in healing others.

I believe there is no time in eternity, so the reason creating a new life takes ‘time’ is because we let doubt and fear block our good and I believe we talk ourselves out of miracles every day.

Now I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I never have a bad day despite all I believe. But I will tell you this much, as I continue to walk by faith (not by sight) and speak words of life and love, gratitude and peace, those bad days or incidents are less traumatic and easier to get through than they were before I understood the power of my own thoughts and words.
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Something to think about….
“Inspirational with an Edge!” ™
"Coaching in PJs" ​™