Author: Marie Fitts

We went to the 5:30PM service this past Saturday night at our Church, so we slept in and watched The Joel Osteen Ministries out of Houston, TX on television, as we leisurely began our Sunday morning.

Joel is such a positive and encouraging minister and he speaks to my heart on many levels. I wanted to share with you Joel’s message from the sermon notes, because it is well worth repeating!

Speak favor into your own life every day and God will move in and through your life. When you change what you are saying about yourself, you will change what you are seeing as well!

Declare victory over your own life. Don’t talk about the way things are, talk about the way you want things to be!

Repeat these affirmations daily. Write them down, place them on your bathroom mirror and say:

I am blessed
I am prosperous
I am strong
I am healthy
I am talented
I am creative
I am confident
I am secure
I am disciplined
I am focused
I am attractive
I am well able
I have a good personality
I am well liked
God is placing the right people in my future. He is placing the right opportunities ahead of me. I will accomplish my dreams. I am overcoming every obstacle. 2015 will be my best year so far! God is showing me something new that is Bigger, Better and Greater than anything I’ve ever thought or imagined!

Why?

BECAUSE, I AM THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD…AND I SAY SO!

POWER VERSE:
Joel 3:10 “Let the weakling say, I am strong.”

I find inspiration for my writing everywhere. I find it in personal experiences, conversations with family and friends and I find it often in reading other people’s work.

I just visited a dear friends blog and read her latest post entitled “Trekking to Hope”. You can read her work at www.jenniferswoish.com

This poem was inspired by her words.

“Hope In Him”
– Marie H. Fitts

Oh for eyes to see a future
That is not yet realized
A vision in the distance
Where clearly love transpires

Oh for patience to allow The Lord
To work it all out in His time

Until tomorrow rests in today
And I can clearly see my way
I will trust only in Jesus name
And put my Hope In Him

When troubles come and I can’t see
Beyond the road in front of me
When I am scared and all alone
A wayward heart without a home

I pray for faith just to believe
In promises made for you and me
Trusting not in what is seen
But put my Hope In Him

For solid faith in all He said
In all the words printed in red

For what is living without Hope
Of a brighter day to come
And what is faith without trusting
In our Savior’s Love

Until tomorrow rests in today
Until I clearly see my way
I will trust only in Jesus name
And put my Hope In Him

The current Sermon Series at Hope Presbyterian Church in Cordova, TN by Senior Pastor Rufus Smith, is called
“I AM WHO I AM”.
This poem was inspired by my sermon notes:

I Am The Mysterious One
I Am The Compassionate One
I Am The All Sufficient One
I Am The Transcended One
I Am The Redeeming One

When you are inadequate…I AM
When you are unworthy…I AM
Where you have failed…I AM

For I AM WHO I AM for whatever you are not
Yes I AM setting in motion this train of thought
I AM THE FORGIVING GOD for all who have lost their way
I AM THE LOVING GOD for all who can’t say…

I’ve honored you Father
With all of my life
I’ve kept your commands
I’ve done what you said, right

Though I was persecuted
Beaten and hung on a tree
I died for the guilty
So they too could be

Righteous and Holy
Blameless and Free
Equipped, Empowered and
Anointed through Me!

In my death on the Cross
It was You that I bought
For I AM WHO I AM
For whatever you are not!

If I were a painter
Sweeping brush in hand
Could I paint a story without tint or shade and
Your attention still command?

If I could make beautiful music
Strumming guitar strings
Would you be compelled to sit a spell and
Listen to me sing?

If I were an orator,
Eloquent and skilled
Expressing my revolutionary views
Could it change your will?

If you were the audience
Of such an artiste
Would you stand and applaud
Or roll your eyes without speech?

In the presence of God
We will all be one day
The Author and Finisher
Of our faith will soon say…

What did you do with
All of your Life?
And what did you do
With my son, Jesus Christ?

Did you believe
In His words painted in red?
The sermon on the Mount
Where Jesus lead

His Disciples and followers
Through The Lord’s Prayer
Teaching the Beatitudes
To and audience who cared

Enough about you and me
To pass His words along
So that centuries would come and go
And His example still stand strong

As the day the greatest orator ever spoke
The greatest author ever wrote
For the greatest singer to portray
What the greatest musician ever played

Jesus spoke with eloquence…and LIVED
HE IS THE GREATEST WORK OF ART
Which echoes with His followers in words
The Painter… painted on our hearts

Jesus said to His Disciples
Come! Yes, you, all covered in sin
Come follow me and I will
Make you fishers of men

Throw your nets out on every street corner
Casting to catch all who loiter…without purpose
Because there is much work to do
Come follow me, Yes I want you!

Come sit at my feet
And I will teach
Parables and stories
To make you think

Riddles that capture
Everything you should know
Unravelled they speak the Truth
It is so!

So paint my words
Boldly on your heart
In remembrance of Me
While we are apart

Then share what you’ve learned
With all who have sinned
Cast your nets wide
Reel them “ALL” in

To my harbor, my dock
My safe refuge, my haven
And let no man in existence
Ever be mistaken

That I am the One True God
Of this there is no doubt
For your idol worship
Will always end without

The blessings I promised
And what My word conveys
To all who believe
And to all who obey

The words I spoke
That are written in red
Shared first with My Disciples
So they could repeat what I said

And to you… yes YOU!
Sitting there with your pen
Come follow me and I will
Make you fishers of men

Power Verse:
Matthew 4:19 (NIV) “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

I read somewhere that the best teachers, teach what they need to learn. I would have been a great teacher because most of my writing comes from a place where I personally need to learn a lesson.
I never want to come across too preachy, because I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But there are some things I’ve experienced that I am certain need to be shared.

I’ve dedicated a PINTEREST page called “Teach, Preach & Pass It On”; pinning inspirational pictures and quotes that just need to be repeated, revisited, rehashed and duplicated! Check it out!
In the meantime, I’ll share what I’ve learned for sure.

I’ve learned that when I stay up too late and don’t get to bed at a descent hour, I can’t get up when the alarm goes off! As a result, I miss the time I’ve set aside in the early morning to spend in devotion and prayer. I realize I need it and miss it desperately when I oversleep, because it sets the course of my day!

When I oversleep, I miss the opportunity to block out the world and spend time talking to Jesus. Even more, I miss the opportunity to listen to what He might tell me through reading His word and slowing down long enough to allow His Holy Spirit to speak to my heart! I miss the opportunity to intercede for my family and friends in prayer and petition to The Father, for His provision, protection and healing over their lives as well.

Do you ever ask for His guidance, but don’t show up daily to listen for His response? I’m sad to admit I’ve done it! I wonder how much further down the road I would be in my walk with Jesus, if I had spent time talking to Him every single day of my life.

Maybe you aren’t an early riser. Maybe you work the night shift. Maybe you prefer to talk with Jesus before you go to bed at night.
Maybe your drive to work is your time alone with Jesus. Just know that the time of day does not matter. It’s the time each day that makes all the difference.

I’ve learned for sure, that the only way to stay in relationship with Jesus is to talk to Him daily. He is right there beside your favorite chair, sitting at the foot of your bed, riding in the car along with you to work…patiently waiting for you to acknowledge His presence.

Won’t you take time today to listen to what He has to say to you? Invite His Holy Spirit into your heart. Read your Bible daily and keep your heart open for His voice. The Holy Spirit will speak to you in a way that will be made known to you.

Then, when you’ve heard from Him, be sure to… Teach, Preach and Pass It On!

If someone asked you, “What is your heart’s desire?”, could you tell them? Do you even know what it is that makes you happy?
Does your drive match your desire?

I majored in Communications in college and had big dreams of becoming a news reporter. I could picture myself coming into your home every evening via the local news station to give you all the latest news across the nation and on the scene.

I also had dreams of becoming a recording artist. I grew up singing in Church and with my sisters. We spent countless hours spinning
the old 45 records and albums on Mom’s front porch.

We used an extension cord to plug in the record player and bring it outside. We would swing in the porch swing and sing to the top of our lungs to artist’s like The Monkeys, The Jackson Five, The Osmonds, Olivia Newton-John, Englebert Humperdinck, and Tom Jones…What’s New Pussy Cat? (I know I’m dating myself here!)

We took turns jumping out of the swing to change the needle on the records. I can still hear my Mom pecking on the kitchen window for us to slow down, because we were going too high and she was afraid we would fly out of the swing… or worse, slam into the living room window!

In my mid twenties, I sang in a Country Band and actually recorded some music at Cotton Row Studios in Memphis, TN. So all those years of vocal training on Mom’s front porch swing didn’t go to waste.

Although my recording never aired over the radio and the dream never culminated to the level I had hoped. I can still check this one off my bucket list!

Even though I felt like my “drive” never got much beyond first gear, I’ve managed to keep my heart on the off-road near the interstate of my desires. I can see the freeway through the trees as I round each new corner of my life. My desire was not always in focus, but it was always there.

Who knew that dairies and journals were the prerequisite for my dream coming to pass? Who knew that all those communications classes, copy writing and editing classes would not go to waste after all? Who knew that the Proverbs 31 Ministries She Speaks Conference in Charlotte NC last year would open up the door to this blog?

Who knew it? God knew it! He had designs on me all along to become a reporter… just not for the local news. He wanted me to report on the GOOD NEWS of the GOSPEL!

He has equipped me with creativity and the Spiritual Gift to inspire others through devotional writing and devotional poetry. I suppose I had the drive all along and didn’t recognize how well it has matched my desires.

Do you have the determination to see your dreams come to pass? Take inventory of your life and see if you don’t recognize how God is already orchestrating your drive to match your desire!

Tell it to The Father
When your heart is lonely
If your burden’s overwhelming
When you feel like you’re the only

One who’s suffered an injustice
Don’t you know that You can Trust this?
He will always
Be waiting

When your lonely heart is aching
When your weary back is breaking
From the weight of all your sorrows
If fear or dread fills your tomorrows

Tell it to the Father
For He is the One that made you
And His heart…you know it craves for you
To call upon His name

When your life feels so insane
When you’re drowning in your tears
Because nothings changed
…and it’s been years

Why? Have you not trusted?
That The Lord provides the justice
Through His death upon the cross
‘Twas for Believers…not the lost!

For Sin is the cause
Separating right and wrong
And even Satan with his best
Fiery darts aimed at your chest

Knows they’re arrows you cannot defend
Without the Armor
From the Friend
We have in Jesus!

So tell it to The Father
Tell your joys and all your sorrows
Tell your dreams for your tomorrows
Tell your triumphs and defeat

Linger near His mercy seat

Living life to teach and inspire
Others to search for their desires
Through God The Father, up above
His Spirit descends on us like a dove

Firmly resting
In the place
Where on our knees
We find His grace

So tell it to The Father

Violence

He came blameless to the world
Setting an example of how we should live
He was persecuted, whipped and beaten
For what “we” did
He died a violent death
Hanging on a tree
Hands and feet pierced by nails
A mocking crown of thorns on His Head
Put to death by His own people
They called Him The King of the Jews

Peace

He loved us enough to take our punishment on Himself
He overcame the grave
He ascended into heaven…but what does “he ascended” mean except that
He also descended to the lower, earthly regions? (Ephesians 4:9)
Do you think it means He went through Hell for us – atoning for our sin debt?
He came in peace
He lived in peace
He died so that we might experience that same peace
The Peace that surpasses all understanding
He Arose and His Holy Spirit
Is alive and well
Living on the inside of all those who believe

On a clear and breezy day
Relaxing on the beach in May
“Far Niente” the Italians say
Tis so sweet to do nothing!

The work week is done
Now basking in the sun
Vacation has finally come
Tis so sweet to do nothing!

The girls trip to Pensacola Beach
We’re never at a loss for speech
Taking turns to tell our “tales”
No rain in sight, the sun prevails!

Laughter reigns as the seagulls cry
Planes advertise across the sky
Some read books in shades of gray
To rekindle passion of younger days!

Catalogs and magazines
Fill the silences between
The latest news or beauty tip
What works for wrinkles, hair and lips.

We share our joys and recipes
Our heartaches too
We’ve touched
On these…

But overall
The girls trip rings…
It Tis so Sweet to do nothing!