Christian Books – Donna Louis – Integrity

Are you a person of integrity? Do you have a strict code of morality? Every day daily we are presented with integrity choices. Are you willing to lie on a job application so you can get the job? Even though you raise your hand in court and swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, do you? You are desperate for a loan? Are you willing to lie to the bank or financial institution instead of trusting God for a beneficial outcome? Your goal in life should be to always reflect integrity. This is something that should be reflected in every aspect of your life. Christian Books – Donna Louis – Integrity. Check out my website

What is the definition of integrity? Integrity means having a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity. One person who had great integrity in the Bible was Joseph Mary’s husband. When Joseph found out that his wife Mary was pregnant, and the news spread that he was not the father he had to have several emotions surrounding him. Embarrassment, anger, disgust, sadness, betrayal, etc. He had several options he could have pursued such as divorcing Mary quietly; he could have had her killed since that was the penalty for adultery according to the law. According to the law in the book of Leviticus in the bible it states: ‘And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. – Leviticus 20:10. However, he chose to have integrity and stay with her especially after the angel spoke to him and advised him that Mary was carrying the baby Jesus. Christian Books – Donna Louis – Integrity

The bible has a lot to say about integrity: “He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.” – Proverbs 10:9, “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. – Proverbs 28;6, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” – Proverbs 11:3.

Living a life of integrity is always the most prudent thing to do. Check out my website

Christian Books – Donna Louis – Praise & Worship

What do you praise & worship? Is it idols, mankind, material things and a host or others or do you praise & worship spiritual things namely God? Check out my website

Are you praising and saying hallelujah when your stock portfolio bulges and increases? Are you praising & worshiping when your horse wins the race and you’re on your way to collect at the track? Are you praising and worshipping when you find out the value of your home has increased maybe even doubled? Or could it be you are praising and worshipping when a co-worker that you don’t like has just been terminated and now you just know you will get their position? This is an example of being giddy about someone else’s downfall: Cain committed the first murder in the bible by stoning his brother Abel. God had asked Cain and Abel to bring sacrifices to him from their produce and God preferred Abel’s and apparently, jealousy rose up in him and so he killed Abel. Ironically, later in life, Cain died because the stones on the home he built gave away and the house fell on him, and the stones killed him. Christian Books – Donna Louis – Praise & Worship

The list is endless of things that people praise and worship but nothing man made or materialistic will last forever. The items I listed above have all become faulty. The stock exchange goes up and down. One day your portfolio is massive and the next it is sexy slim. The best horses that were guaranteed to win came in dragging up the rear and the longshot wound up winning and leaving all the other horses in the dust. Home values have been known to decrease mightily many times. Did it occur to you that the co-worker you didn’t like who was terminated that eventually that could possibly happen to you? Check out my website

Praise and Worship belongs only to God. God is the one who can keep you lifted up. “Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” – Psalm 75:5-7. “I the Lord thy God am a jealous God,” – Exodus 20:5. Christian Books – Donna Louis – Praise & Worship

There are two things that have proven themselves to be true. Death and Taxes. No matter how many material things you amass you cannot take them with you. God gives you favor, grace, and blesses your life so you can enjoy your life but remember you can’t take it with you when he calls you home. Nobody who has left this life has carried a home, car, boat, plane, etc. with them. Some may have requested to be buried with their money or jewelry but guess what the funeral home and who is left behind has the final say. You are surely out of luck if they cremate you!

Give your praise and worship solely to God. If you are a new believer and not sure what to speak go and invest in some worship music and play that God will be pleased. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. “. – Psalm 149:4. “Praise & Worship God.

Christian Books – Donna Louis – Trust

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6

Where does your trust lie? Is it in mankind or God? Mankind is made up of feelings and emotions which can be very fickle sometimes. The definition of fickle is as follows: : marked by lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability : given to erratic changeableness. – www. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fickle. So now that you know the definition you are aware that at sometime in your life you have been fickle also. God however is consistent and never changes or is fickle. “For I am the Lord, I change not”. – Malachi 3:6. Since God never changes, we should have our entire trust in him always. Christian Books – Donna Louis – Trust

Why is it so easy for us to trust other things so easily? For example, at amusement parks there is always a big draw for Rollercoasters. The lines to get on the ride are incredible. Why is it though we climb into the roller coaster giddy, sweaty, pumped with adrenaline and trust that the ride will be awesome! We never have wavering trust that our feet will never land safely on solid ground within 3 1/2 to 4 minutes after the inception of the ride. So, if we are so confident and stable and grounded in our trust in a man-made steel object why is our trust so flimsy in our creator?

The most amazing trust story comes in the book of Genesis regarding Abraham. Sarah and Abraham waited 20 years to have a child. God promised Abraham a son, but he was waiting for 20 years. When Isaac was born Abraham was 100 years old and his wife Sarah was 90 years old. God decided to tempt Abraham one day and see where his trust lied by telling him to kill Isaac. Abraham took Isaac to a mountain that God told him to and sacrifice Isaac there. Abraham tied Isaac down and just as he drew his knife to kill him an angel of the lord advised Abraham to stop. The angel of the lord said to Abraham because you have not withheld your one and only son and was ready to kill him God says he will bless you and make of you a great nation. Christian Books – Donna Louis – Trust

Abraham’s trust did not lie in mankind it was with God. Even though he had to wait 20 years for Isaac he still obeyed God and was willing to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham waited 20 years some of us don’t want to even wait 20 minutes for something let alone destroy the thing we have waited so long for. The bible says, “Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” – Psalm 40:4. Where does your trust lie?

Christian Books – Donna Louis – Fear

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. – John 10:10

Fear thou not; for I am with thee, be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. – Isaiah 41:10

Everyday we wake up we have choices presented to us. This is God’s free will that he bestowed unto us when he created us. He presented the option to Adam & Eve about which trees they could eat from in the Garden of Eden and warned them not to eat from the tree of Good & Evil. However, Eve made a choice to listen to the serpent and Adam made a choice to listen to Eve. Christian Books – Donna Louis – Fear. Check out my website

With each new day we are presented with the choice to either have Faith or live in Fear. When we allow fear to take over our lives it cripples and destroys us. It is part of Satan’s arsenal to prevent us from living the live Jesus came to give us. When we allow fear to rule our lives, we are held captive and are going through life with blinders on like what the horses wear. “According to the American Academy of ophthalmology, blinders, colloquially known as blinkers, are a piece of horse tack attached to a horse’s bridle or hood to restrict its rear-side view and avoid distractions. The blinders can either be a full or half cup, depending on the circumstances and reduce a horse’s vision from 180 – 30 degrees.” (This is part of an article from Horse Blaze Magazine written by Janet Williams March 19, 2021). Christian Books – Donna Louis – Fear

FEAR is actually false evidence appearing real. All of us at one time or another were fearful of something happening that never happened. Fear robs our life of all the amazing things we could be accomplishing in life especially the purpose that God created us to do. Author Wayne Cordero wrote a book called Dream Releasers on Nov 1, 2002, and had a chapter titled “Die Empty” and a section of that chapter titled “The Wealth of Graveyards” where he stated that our graveyards are the wealthiest places on earth. Why is this? We allowed fear to take over especially the fear of failure and we’re overly concerned about what people would think of us if we stepped out and was bold to walk into our destiny and follow our dreams. “And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers”. – Deuteronomy 30:9. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” – Jeremiah 29:11. Check out my website

So, are you going to continue to allow fear to rob your life where you are not living your dreams of being an entrepreneur, artist, actor, musician, writer, chef, sports figure, comedian, inventor, and a host of other things or are you going to step out and die empty? Christian Books – Donna Louis – Fear

Christian Books – Enjoy The Journey

Whether you are commuting to church, work, school, a friend’s home, the grocery store, the bank, the gym to work out, the movies, a restaurant for dinner, an amusement park, or going on vacation or host of other things you are on a journey. A journey is an act or instance of traveling from one place to another. Christian Books – Enjoy The Journey. http://www.miraclebook.net

In the same way that we have an earthly journey we have a spiritual journey as well. We are traveling day by day until we are called home to our maker. A spiritual journey just like an earthly journey is made up of choices. However, because God placed us all here with a purpose and have given us all gifts and talents that we are to use to glorify his kingdom if we start to go astray, he will rearrange our choices and implement the correct ones so we will stay on the course he designed for us before he formed us in our mother’s womb. Christian Books – Enjoy The Journey. http://www.miraclebook.net

It is equally important that we enjoy the journey as well as the destination. All of us want to be successful and thrive in life but we must remember that when we plant a seed for flowers, or fruits, or vegetables, or whatever there is a journey that the seed must go through before it becomes all it is meant to be. There will be peaks and valleys, straight roads and curved roads, mountains and flat terrain, in essence joys and sadness, but all of that is necessary so you can become the person you are meant to be just like the seed. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diver’s 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. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. – James 1:1-8. If you don’t quite understand what that means let me simplify it for you – to everything there is a season, and an appointed time and God is the one who determines that time so don’t get frustrated just enjoy the journey. You will get to where you are meant to be if you don’t give up. So, what should we do while on our journey? I love to work with acronyms so let’s take a look. Christian Books – Enjoy The Journey

J = Joy. Well, we don’t have to go back far because just a few sentences ago in James 1:1 it said to count it all joy when ye fall into diver’s temptations. Trials are just a test that we must pass so God will bless us with what we’re asking for. Just like a small child has a Christmas list for Santa we as adults have an everyday Christmas list for God. We want, and want, and want some more. Well, the same way a parent is not going to give their car to a six-year-old to drive because they know the child is not capable of handling the vehicle is the same way God is not going to give us what we want unless we are prepared to handle what goes along with it. Just because you don’t receive what you are asking for in the time frame that you want it doesn’t mean it won’t happen so keep your joy always.

O = Observant. It is very important that you are observant while on your journey because sometimes tests actually get repeated. There is a story called The Potter’s Wheel – The Teacup by an unknown author who spoke about how this potter who owned an antique shop and a couple came inside to look because they liked antiques and saw this beautiful teacup unlike anything they had ever seen and asked the potter if they could see it. He handed it to them and walked away and they marveled about how beautiful the teacup was. At the exact moment the teacup spoke to them and said it was not always a teacup. The teacup explained how it had been placed by the potter on this wheel being spun back and forth and then how it was placed in this oven to be refined and every time it screamed to get out the potter opened the oven and checked on it and placed it back in saying it wasn’t ready yet. This is how God is with us. However, with the testing we endure we need to make sure that if we failed a test previously because of a lack of patience or something else we must be observant when that test comes back and make the right choice so we will move forward and not have to keep repeating it and going around and around. As a child there was a song kids would sing called “Here we go round the Mulberry Bush.” Several kids would join hands in a circle and skip around a tree or bush and sing as they went around. We must be careful and observant not to repeat our mistakes just like the children of Israel did why it took them 40 years to get to the promise land instead of 11 days.

U = Unique. When something is unique it is distinctively characteristic. This is the way you must see yourself. You are God’s masterpiece and when he created you, he broke the mold. Just like you hear fingerprint experts say that no one has the same set of fingerprints that is true because each one of us is unique in our own way. God designed us that way and so the gifts and talents that he gave to you are specific to you and what he wants you to accomplish in life so don’t compare yourself to others because what you can do easily maybe a huge chore for someone else.

R = Rest. The same way that you hear health experts say you should get at least eight hours of sleep per night so your body can function properly and replenish itself is exactly what God did when he created the earth. He worked six days and then rested on the seventh. We also must rest. Sometimes we keep ourselves so busy that we are spinning out of control. Trust God and allow him to take the reigns of your life and you will see things will run more smoothly. When we allow God to have the lead role and be our pilot things work out better. Since the dawn of time and the creation of the earth God gave us choices and he has always been a gentleman where he will not invoke his power on us. If we insist of being in control, he will allow us to do that and just take a back seat and wait until we are completely worn out and spent and cry out for his help and then he will step back in. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7. Rest and let God do the work.

N = New. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23. The Bible says that we all fall short of the glory of God, but this above verse let’s us know that no matter what his mercy and compassion for us fail not. Each day that God provides the breath of life in your body is a new day to be grateful and go forward asking him to guide and direct your steps. Pray Lord thank you for your favor in everything you do. Every day is a new day with a new opportunity to do better while we are on this journey. For the entire six days that it took God to create the earth everyday he improved and did better. This is what he expects of us and if we will remove the stress and take off the pressure it will allow us to greatly improve with each new day. Each day is a gift, and we need to choose wisely to do better than what we did yesterday. Don’t say it’s too hard because the Bible says you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you.

E = Expectant. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” – Jeremiah 29:11. God is clearly telling you here that he is not thinking evil thoughts about you and wants to give you peace and an expected end so if God is thinking and saying that why are you saying the opposite? You must be expecting the best every day. Miracles can happen at any moment but if you are thinking that nothing good ever happens to me that is exactly what will keep happening. The book of Job in the Bible talks about a righteous man who lost everything, but God let him know, “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.” – Job 8:7. Don’t think my time has passed it is too late for me to have anything good happen to me always have an expectant attitude.

Y = Yes. Yes – used as a function word to express assent or agreement. Do you know what the most powerful word in the English language is? It is the word YES. A lot of people believe that NO is the most powerful word but that would be wrong. The word NO shows closed-mindedness and fear but, the word YES shows true strength and courage. The word YES signals interest and respect. When you say the word YES you look at what is presented to you and simply look at the problem in front of you in a fresh way. The word YES is a positive affirmation. It reflects in your body language and makes you feel valued. The word YES stretches you, challenges, energizes, creates safety and trust, and fuels creativity. There are many people in the bible that knew the power of the word YES. God used everyday people who said yes to him in the Bible. Noah said yes when God asked him to build an ark. Abraham said yes when God asked him to sacrifice his only son. However, God spared his life. Moses said yes when God told him to ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Mary said yes when the angel asked her to carry Jesus, the only Son of God. The disciples said yes when Jesus asked them to leave everything behind and follow Him. Paul, who once persecuted Christians as Saul, said yes when God asked him to deliver the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. These people were not extraordinary people with great fortitude and toughness. They were normal people who tolerated, wrestled, and wept but still said yes to God and His will. The biggest one of all is Jesus who said YES to being crucified on the cross. What was his reward? He now sits on the throne on the right side of the Father. Try it for yourself say YES to God and see how much smoother your journey will be. Christian Books – Enjoy The Journey.