We really enjoyed our Thanksgiving Day. It was a day that I reflected on my family. This is the first year since I've been back  home that I did not go anywhere. I was determined to stay home with my husband, my kids, and our dinner. Raiyawna, unfortunately for me, was parading the streets of New York City having the time of her life, and I was feeling like a sheep who'd lost her lamb.
As I took inventory of my children, I realized that they are truly becoming young adults and there is nothing that I can do to stop that. I said a prayer of this sort, "Lord I thank you for my family and although Raiyawna could not be with us, I thank you for allowing Rasco to be a part of this family and this dinner." One day, I will probably be sitting at he and Dob's table thanking God that they allowed me a chance to visit with them. Life is so rewarding when we look at the simplest things that God has blessed us with. When I say simplest, I don't mean our children. I mean tables, dinners, fellowship, knowing how to cook, and taste buds. When you really take the time to think about, there are so many things you can be grateful for.
Well, I just felt like sharing a piece of my heart today and to take the opportunity to remind you to be grateful for the things that God has done; both great and small.

Have you ever wonder why it seems that God's Word is not coming to past in your life. Or how you hear the Word of God but it doesn't seem to take the same affect on you as it does others. The Word is so profound and it will accomplish that which it was set out to accomplish. The enemy knows this, so the only way that he can hinder the Word from taking full root in you and manifesting itself through you- is to keep you from getting the Word.
A dam is a wall that is built to stop the flow of water; or to cause a detourance. There are two dams in our lives that are continuously trying to stop the flow of living waters from moving freely in our lives.
These two dams are:
 1) Our Ears, and
 2) Our Minds.
First let me deal with our minds that conceptualizes, organizes, and compares information. This multi-functional job holder, has its own way of rationalizing what it wants and does not want. It has the ability to be led by your heart (not the cardiovascular but the heart of the mind), which is responsible for all that is right within you; your spiritual nature, but rarely is this who it desires to be led by. The mind desires to take upon its self the responsibility of leading you. So much so, that your own mind will set up dams to stop you from hearing your heart and will allow demonic sources to control and direct it. Find a person that is always talking foolishly, then you'll know what's in their heart has been tainted by their minds. If you tell them the reason why they need Christ, they will try to tell you whether it is feasible for them to live without Christ based on the information that it has stores and the factual information that Christ was a man becomes their reasoning for conceptualizing His ability to be the Savior of the world.
Then there are those ears. If they become the avenue for that which the mind obtains information to conceptualize, organize, and compare....why wouldn't Satan fight endlessly to make sure that the information you receive is full of deceit, lies, and distorted information? Believe me, he does and these are the dams that he ushers your own mind to put in your ears. That's why people are not hearing the Word of God. The mind has alreaedy decided that the Word is information that isn't needed to live, and the ears follow suit by becoming deaf to the truth.
We must remove these dams in order for God's Word to take full course in our lives and we must stay on guard against a present enemy who desires to kill, steal, and destroy God's truth with lies. You can not stop God's Word from fulfilling the purpose for which God spoke it through existence. You might as well know the Word since  you can't stop the Word. Then there is no since in knowing the Word and half heartedly believing the Word. Even Satan knows the Word and believes....if he didn't, why would he fight so hard to keep you from knowing the Word. If you know the Word, you might as well live by the Word, because what is to come is already destined and set in motion and you have been given the distinct opportunity to decide your end. Those of us who live the Word, begin to love the Word because we understand that the Word was God, and the Word is God.
Don't let these dams stop you from getting all that God has in store for you. The Word will cause you to be fruitful and blessed some sixtyfold and some a hundredfold. I believe that your blessing and the extent of what you are blessed with is determined by how much of the Word you know, live by, operate because of, and operate through. So tell your ears, "You will hear God's Word", and tell your mind, "You don't have to figure it out, just get an understanding. The Word is, was, and will always be, my saving grace." Faith comes by hearing, and complete hearing by the Word of God. If  you have not heard and believed the Word of God (the Gospel), then you have not heard nothing at all. Be Blessed.

Danyelle Scroggins is the author of Not Until You're Ready, His Mistress or God's Daughter, and the eBook The Power of Pain. To find out more about the author, visit www.danyellescroggin

Needless to say, between "Not Until You're Ready" and "His Mistress or God's Daughter?" we (my family and I) have had to deal with some hard circumstances. Reynard was laid off of his job and being that I didn't have a job, we were forced to deal with some situations we never thought we'd be in. I often wondered, "God, why are you allowing us to go through this?" And I heard nothing. Then one day I received a phone call from a saint who said, "God told me to tell you to just hold on. He's going to allow you all to go through some things to take you to a level that is far beyond the level you ever thought you would go." That helped but it still did not fix the fact that we had no where to go. I went to a friends house and then truly found that I did not have a friend at all. Then, we went to family house, and realized that you can't crowd people out of their own homes because they'll get weary in well doing. So, we decided to go back to our house that had no lights, a thousand dollar light bill that should have been paid by a mortgage company was never paid and we didn't have it to pay, the gas line had been shut down because no one lived in the house and the meter had been run over, and the pipes were so busted that if you turned on the water, it wouldn't have done any good. (The Rest of the story will be in my upcoming book, "You Don't Know What I've Been Through")

One night, it got down to 45 degrees outside, but probably less than 30 degrees inside the house. We had on long socks, pajamas, and two blankets and we still were freezing. Well Scroggins got up and got three more blankets, both of our skull caps, and gloves and finally we were worn although we had to keep our heads covered. Going through all this at home, while still going to church and preaching on some Sundays. And I wondered, If I were better off when it was hot, and we were in the house sweating all night with windows up for air.

It was on that night I said to Scroggins, "Baby, I can now imagine how some of the homeless people feel who are in old houses thinking that they will be warmer. I know how cold they are." It was at this point, I just broke down. Even now writing this I am swamped with tears. (Then God let my sister call me to say, "You are going through for God's purpose. Say strong sis, it's a part of your purpose!) God knew I needed strength just to write this. If I could afford to go and buy blankets, I would have no need to ask you to donate them. This is something so special to me that it aches. I ache thinking about those men, women, and children in boxes at night, under bridges, in cars, without covering. Let's not only cover their souls with prayer, let's cover their bodies with blankets.
 
My father in law would open his home to homeless people or children who had no where to go and now his same home is a place where his own children had to run to in times of trouble. So who beIf you are in the Shreveport surrounding areas, we will pick up the blankets; even in Texas. Or if you can afford to send them, please send them to Community of Faith Family Church, 624 Louise Street, Mansfield, Louisiana 71052. The winter is fastly approaching and we need those blankets like yesterday. Thank you and be blessed!