Don't Let Your Feelings Get You Left Behind

If we go off of feelings and not faith, we can get left behind. You have to understand that feelings change depending on your circumstances but God doesn’t change depending on your circumstances, he’s always faithful. God is not moved by feelings but by faith. As the bible says, if you have faith as small of a mustard seed you can move mountains. (Matthew 17:20). The bible also says, without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6). Just because things seem to be chaotic doesn’t mean that’s the end. It’s when things seem out of control when God usually takes control to remind you who He is. God never intended for us to be overtaken by our circumstances and many are when they are moved by feelings and not by faith. Your feelings will get you in trouble, they can cause you to miss the very thing God’s been trying to get to you because you move too fast or quitting. Don’t let your feelings control you, you control your feelings. You must keep in mind that God has the final say not your circumstances. Your feelings will cause you to forget what the Word says, He who promised is FAITHFUL! (Hebrews 10:23) God is always moving on your behalf regardless of how it seems. God knows what you can handle and is with you every step of the way. Many are experiencing tough and trying times now but we all have to remember, the rain makes things grow, storms are not permanent-they have an end, and the fire refines. So keep your joy and keep believing the Word of God. Choose to walk by faith and not feelings, get the release God has for you. Stay in the race. -Eri

Don't Jump Ship!

Don’t jump ship, you can drown. I just wanted to share a few brief words with you regarding waiting on God’s timing and not being anxious but resting in what God told you. As the bible says in Philippians 4:7” and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Know that you can’t go off your own understanding when it comes to the things of God, you have to go off the Word, period! As the bible says in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” Understand that anxiousness and worry brings fear and doubt. You have to be rooted in the truth that God didn’t save you to leave you. Know that when God’s ready to reveal the prepared way that you’ve been waiting for, you’ll be ready for it. Trust God enough to know that he knows the time and season to bring you to that next phase. It’s dangerous moving outside of God’s timing. When you move outside of God’s timing you can lose your covering. You can literally go through unnecessary mess and heartaches by moving outside of God’s timing. You have to understand that within God’s timing is exactly what you need for that next phase. But if you move out of God’s timing provision may not be made. Psalm 23:1 Says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”, that means you will not want when God’s your shepherd, not yourself. Just as Paul was in the ship and they hit a bad storm, the Angel of God told him that no one will die if they stayed in the ship (Acts 27). You have to stay in the ship of preparation to get where God want you to go next. You have to be like Paul with the mindset that if God said stay here I’ll be here and make it to the other side. Not only did Paul know he was going to make it safe through the storm but he knew he wasn’t going to die because he had destiny to reach on the other side. You have to get to a place where you know that God placed something in you that has to come out, so you refuse to give up because you have destiny to fulfill, purpose to fulfill. You have to get to a place where you know without a shadow of doubt that regardless of how bad the storm seems your God is bigger than the storm. You have to know that it’s not about the storm but about you believing God regardless of what you see. Don’t jump before it’s time and miss your promise land. Don’t miss God’s timing. What you’ve been waiting on could be released tomorrow, just hold on and know that God is faithful. If God said it, He’s going to fulfill it! Stay in the Ship, rest in what God already told you!! Stay in the race. -Eri

You're Loved Beyond Measure

The love of God is the most powerful demonstration known to man. God’s love caused Him to give up His only Begotten Son for a sacrifice for our sins. Many people know that Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13) but many fail to realize why Jesus was sent in the first place, because God loves us. As John 3:16 says, “ For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever shall believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. Now that’s something to get happy about. Never take God loving you lightly or for granted, it’s for that reason that we are free today. Who the son has set free is free indeed, that was only possible because of God’s love to send his son (John 8:36). Never feel like you can’t make it through life because of challenges, you must realize that if God sent this only Begotten Son for us, he’ll definitely bring you out of a little challenge. We must go through life confident in God’s Word and confident in who He is because He loves us. God’s love heals, delivers, provides, redeems, restores, refreshes, reconciles, rekindles, renews, revives, it does whatever we need it to, it completes. So go through life encourage and speaking out that you can make it through anything because God loves you and promised to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).You can go through life victorious in every situation because God loved us enough to give us Jesus who overcame it all and we overcame with him. (John 16:33, Ephesians 2:4-7) Our victory is in Jesus, our victory is in the fact that God loves us so much that he saved us.

So the next time you feel down and out, shake it off and shout I can make it because GOD LOVES ME, remember what was already completed! Focus on how much God loves you and stay free! Stay in the race. -Eri

Relax Your Mind

As 1 Peter 5:7 says, cast your cares on Him for he cares for you. As life happens our thoughts can run wild. With so many adventures, ideas, and wants our minds can become overloaded. As we know the word also says in Psalm 23:1, "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want." So as we continually stay focused on God we must learn how to relax our minds so we don't get overloaded. It's great to want to accomplish a lot but you can only do some much at one time. Regardless of the outside influences we faced on a daily we must learn how to take on what we can handle. There's nothing wrong with a challenge but there comes a time when your mind needs to be relaxed. So take a mental break, release stress, exhale. Take some extra time out to spend with the Father.

We don't know exactly how everything in our lives will work out so we have to continue to make wise decisions and keep speaking the Word. Remember, when your mind is overloaded it's hard to function properly. Also, keep in mind that God's plan are to prosper us and not to harm us.(Jeremiah 29:11) So, as Philippians 4:6-7 says, "6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Receive the peace that God gives and keep moving forward. Stay in the race. -Eri 

Protect the Seed Within

Protect the seed God placed in you. God placed destiny in you. You must be mindful who you surround yourself with and what you allow in your life. So many things that seem innocent can become distractions these days which can take our focus off the right One and the right path. Know that we direct/shape our destinies by the decisions we make. God gives us choices and he desires that we all follow his lead but the choice is up to us. The reason why so many people may oppose you is because what’s in you, you're carrying your God-given purpose. Never get discouraged by someone’s actions against you but know that you’re God approved for this journey and that’s all that matters. Keep protecting the seed of greatness God’s placed in you. Everything you need is within, God is within, He made it that way. So as we meet time and it becomes experiences in life, a little more of what God’s placed in us is birthed. So never lose hope in this life or abort what God’s placed in you by not following his plan. Let destiny be birthed, there’s a purpose for your trials and you will always come out on top when God is leading you. So stay encouraged on an daily, we all need to be encouraged at times. Always remember, if God is for you who can be against you (Romans 8:31). Keep protecting destiny.

Use Your Time & Energy Wisely

At times we need to sit back and determine where we are spending most of our time and giving most of our energy to, especially if we're not getting desired results. You have to understand that you can't get this moment back so you must use wisdom. You must make sure you're spending time on what's important and necessary. Your time should be spent on going after and walking into the destiny God has for your life. You should be so focused on God and what he has for you to do that you don't have time to waste on being unproductive. Your time should not be idle and wasted. When you're idle, people tend get in mess and lose their focus. When you're idle what's important gets pushed to the back. You must understand that God called you to do something greater and in order for that to be revealed you must spend an adequate amount of time with Him.

All your time & energy should not be focusing on what Dan or Janae or whoever is doing. The question is, what are you doing? Are you doing what God has called you to do or are you making excuses why you can't? Once you take time to focus on what God has for you, you won't be in others' business. Once you realize that God has called you to do something great, you can then take your focus off the wrong things. Realize, the more time you waste worrying about what he or she is doing right or not right, the more time you take away from going after your destiny. As the bible says, take the plank out your own eye first then you'll be able to see more clear.(Matthew 7:3-5) Also, (sidenote),know that how you see someone else is a direct reflection of how you see yourself. If you're always worried about others and never have anything good to say, you need to ask God to show you yourself.

I do believe that the more time we spend focusing on God, the more time and energy we can give towards our destinies, the less time we'll have to speculate on others. Once you actively put your time and energy on something productive you'll also begin to see the good in others. Time is too precious to waste and so is your destiny.You don't have to waste your time wishing you had someone else's life, you were given your specific life for a reason. Also, do know that the decisions we make in life do determine the type of life we see. So with that in mind, make up your mind to spend your precious time going after your God given destinies. Once you spend your time on the right things everything else will fall into place. Stay in the race. -Eri @EriHolmes

A Note to Self: Hey You

You are not your past, for your past is a moment you went through (Isaiah 43: 18-19)

You are not your mistakes, for your mistakes were learning tools (Proverbs 24:16)

You are not inferior, for the greater One lives in you which makes you great (1 John 4:4)

You are not a loser, for with Christ you always win (Romans 8:37, John 16:33)

You are a child of God (Galatians 3:26)

You are chosen by God (Isaiah 43: 10)

You are the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28: 13)

You are above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28: 13)

You are the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2: 8)

You are the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)

You are blessed (Genesis 1:28)

You are made in the image and after the likeness of your Father (Genesis 1: 26)

You are more than a conqueror (Romans 8: 37)

You are loved ( 1 John 4:10 , John 3:16)

You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)

You are a designer’s original (Genesis 2:7)

You are covered (Psalm 91:11)


Spend more time focusing on who you are, get to know yourself.. You are who God says you are. If you’re ever questioning your identity, just open the bible. Stay in the race. -Eri @EriHolmes

A Plan

Write the vision and make it plain (Habakkuk 2:2). Writing a plan helps us focus, it helps us stay on track to reach our goals. The plan helps our mind digest the vision and helps us see it as obtainable. The plan allows burdens to be lighten because now you have a target to move forward to. Know with every vision you need a plan. A plan is a, “layout or system for achieving objective: a method of doing something that is worked out in advance” -(World English Dictionary). A plan helps you see your desired goal accomplish. Without a plan you can never get serious about making a vision manifest. Writing a plan out is a sign saying that you’re serious and ready to move forward. Keep in mind that the plan is just part of what’s needed to reach your desired vision or goal but it's necessary. After the plan is written you still have to put that plan in action. But don’t be discouraged or overwhelmed, you have to take step one to get to step two and the Holy Spirit will lead you through each step. Ask God to give you strategies to obtain your desired results. Also, I really want to reiterate this, make sure your vision is from God. It's nothing worse than spending time on a vision and later finding out it wasn't a God thing.  A way to know your vision is from God is that it'll be about more than just you.

So be willing to take the necessary time to write out your vision. Write out whatever God's given you so you can start putting the pieces together to make it all happen. God's called us to rule and walk out our callings but we have to take heed to his word and move. God’s given us the ability to get wealth(Deutoronomy 8:18). Keep in mind that wealth is not just financial but being whole(filled) in every area. He’s given us the ability to succeed, He's given us himself, but the choice is up to us to run with it. As I’ve heard other peers say, “Your success is dependent on you.” So write the vision and make it plain, move on it. Stay in the race. -Eri @EriHolmes

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Renew your Gold Mine

Your mind is a gold mine. If your mind isn’t renewed you’ll only be able to go so far in life. Your mindset determines your drive in life. Having a renewed mind daily ensures yesterday’s struggles don’t hinder today’s progress. Your mind holds your creativity, logic, it holds your perspective. Your mind is part of your soul. The things you’ve dealt with in the past contributes to the shape of your mind and that’s why it’s important to renew it with the Word of God daily. The things you went through, going through or will go through can also affect your perspective so having your mind renewed with the right stuff can keep your perspective right. Having the right perspective is key in life. Generally what you think about most is what you tend to believe. And what you tend to believe is generally what you end up acting out. So having the Word of God in your mind and heart can keep you in the right place.

Having the right mindset, that renewed mindset, can keep you resilient in life. A renewed mind will allow you to bounce back after feeling whatever life throws your way. It’ll allow you to see yourself the way God sees you. It’ll allow you to begin to live the Word of God out in your life. It’ll allow you to believe the Word of God. As many know, the biggest battles take place in the mind because the devil knows that if he can distort your mind he can detour or distract you from the place where God wants you to go, your destiny. That’s also why it’s important to shut down negative thoughts patterns when you first have them. Don’t feed or entertain crazy thoughts because thoughts precede actions. As the bible says in 2 Corinthians 10: 3-6 KJV”3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” and the NLT versions says it this way “3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 [a]We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 6 And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.” So you have to capture and eliminate that crazy thought immediately. Fight mind battles with the Word. One of the most effective weapons on the devil is the Word of God.

So no matter what happens on a daily in your life protect your mind, your goldmine, by keeping it renewed. No matter if you just lost your job or just got out of a bad relationship, renew your mind with the Word of God and keep moving forward. Stay in the race. -Eri Holmes @EriHolmes