My 32nd Birthday: VICTORY

"On my 32nd Birthday, I am living in Victory and so can you." - F. Lugo

Good morning beloved. I thank God for your lives and what He has, is and will do in and through you to affect change in this world for the good in Christ Jesus. Amen.

This morning I'm excited. Why?! It's my 32nd birthday. Yup! I'm 32 today, and this is what I know. My God is on the throne, and has given me this day. I love His Word!


"I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things." (Isaiah 45: 5-7)


Amen! Today I am victorious. I feel victorious because I have faith I am saved, forgiven and redeemed by the Lord Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Easter has been on my mind for some time and the victory that goes along with it. 

I am victorious to know God and be known by God. 

I am victorious to have others praying for me and wishing me a happy birthday.

I am victorious because I am loved.

I am victorious because I know the love of our heavenly Father.

I am victorious because I am alive and well. 

I am victorious as you are victorious because God is a God who blesses all.

I am victorious as I can look to God knowing he will guide me and never misdirect me.

Some words from my beloved sister, "BIG THINGS POPPIN' OFF THIS YEAR 4 YOU..ARE U READY??? GOD IS GOING TO CONTINUE 2 BLOW YOUR MIND AWAY, THIS I KNOW! YOU ARE LOVED." - (ANDREA AVENDAÑO †)

Today I am living in victory and so can you. 

Thank you for honoring me and taking the time to sing, wish and say happy birthday to me.

Let us pray:

Father God You are amazing! I thank You for all the people You have surrounded me with, You are surrounding me with, and will surround me with. I am in victory, I am saved, I am forgiven and I am redeemed. I am so loved, and it's all because of You. I pray that this 32nd birthday You have graciously and lovingly given to me, will be a day my prayers for their Salvation to be so. To You my loving Father and God all the glory, all the praise, and all the honor on this day and forever be to You. In Jesus victorious name, Amen.

Beloved, as always...YOU ARE LOVED.

A Beautiful Attitude (Part 4): A Satisfied Life Is A Righteous Life

"A satisfied life is a righteous life."

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)

Good morning beloved. God's grace and peace be with you, your family, and your ministry both today and forever. Amen. 

Today I will continue on with Part 4 of A Beautiful Attitude, sharing what God has placed into my heart when it comes to the Beatitudes- Staples for good living and the blessings that go along with them.

As I read the Beatitude above, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled, I asked God what is righteousness? So from that question we will enter into this journey together. Are you ready? LET'S GO!

First of all I wanted to define what righteousness is for both you and I. Keep in mind this is a journey we are all going on- Our walk with Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen. 

Okay, so what is righteousness? Here's a definition I found that speaks exactly to what righteousness is. The Greek word that we translate as righteous is dike (pronounced, dee-kay). And while the ancient Greek meaning was tendency, the use of this word in the Bible implies justice and conformance to established standards. Justice means doing the right thing; and conformance to established standards (in the Bible) refers to following the ways of God. So, the word righteous can also be translated as just, since righteousness is so closely tied to justice.

I'm learning to look to the Hebrew and Greek meanings of words as these were the original languages spoken and written. Sometimes we simply must go to the past to see our present and future more clearly; hence renewing our minds by the Word of God (see Romans 12:2). Amen. So! what spoke to me was the word tendency. Sometimes the word tendency gets a bad rep, but we are looking to the positive of all things. Right!? Therefore, I would like to have a tendency to seek to do the right thing and follow the ways of God all the days of my life then I will stand before the Lord on that day in time and be counted righteous by Him, because I lived a righteous life before all others. Amen.

I shared with you what I've been learning so far about what it means to be righteous, how I desire to be righteous and now I'll hook you up with a link that pretty much lists many versus in scripture as well as the definition above that we both read a few moments ago and many more blessings (click HERE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS).

I must say, this blog post is different than my others. It's more lighter. It's still from God's heart to my heart to all your precious hearts, but God is good and the direction He leads me in, you in, all of us in, shows us many wonderful things; of Himself as well as ourselves. Truly a beautiful exchange. Praise the Lord!

Now I find interesting how the Beatitude says those who hunger and thirst as to me it makes me think of a meal. Yes! I'm hungry...(Ha!), but that's beside the point. A meal to me consists of a beverage, an appetizer, a small salad, a main dish and dessert- that's a full course meal to me. To me being thirsty and hungering for righteousness is actually something that is beneficial to our bodies and in actuality we need to be righteous in order to survive, as the Word of God speaks those who don't take in the nourishment of righteousness (they are malnourished in the ways of God) as unrighteous; those who perish (click HERE TO SEE WHAT MALNOURISHED TO GOD LOOKS LIKE).

Now having a meal is nourishing but the right type of foods eaten and beverages we drink will guarantee us a satisfied feeling; a true contentment. To me, I can eat pizza almost everyday, but eventually I desire to have a complete meal as pizza is not a meal. To me, I enjoy drinking Arizona Tea, but it always leaves me thirsty. But on the other hand, if I have a full course meal that is sensible and a nice cold glass of water, I am not only filled (satisfied), but I have no thirst either as only water can quench our thirsts. Did you know that Jesus is called the bread of life and the living water? It's no coincidence that the way to righteous living as well to heaven is through Jesus (see John 14:6). Consuming Jesus (see John 6:56-58) is that sensible meal for our souls and the right living that God calls us to. How so? Through accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord (see Romans 10:9-10/John 3:16), Through Baptism (see Romans 6:3-11/ Matthew 3:13-15), Through Communion (see Luke 22:14-19/1 Corinthians 11:26) , In Loving Him (see Luke 10:27) and Living life for God and not for ourselves (see 2 Corinthians 5:15/ Galatians 2:19-20) Through faithfully following Jesus to where He is calling us. As Jesus says, let us follow His words to all of us, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:1-8).

I have both known the malnourished weakness of an unrighteous life and the strength that comes through a righteous life. Does this make living a righteous life easy? Certainly not! But we take heart, that is being filled with joy, as one; we know in life we will experience troubles and two; Jesus has already overcome the world (see John 16:33), therefore we can be confident if we trust in Him with all our heart, rely on Him and not our limited understanding, He will make that way for us known (see Proverbs 3:5-6). Amen.

What I remain in awe over God in these days is that as Easter draws near just as it was last year and the year before that, my heart, my thoughts and my speech are directed towards Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. With that I will invite you to rise to the call and receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He will save you and make your path straight leading right to Him here and now and for eternity. Amen.

Let us pray: A prayer of Salvation (Make it personal/Make it count)


Jesus, please forgive me for doing things my way. Help me to do things Your way. My soul is in need of saving, and I don't want to live life now or in eternity without you. I confess that You are Lord and believe in my heart God raised You from the dead. I hunger and thirst for righteousness. Please fill me. Save me, help me, cleanse me, make me new and show me the way everlasting. I choose You as my Savior and Lord.  




Beloved, if you prayed this prayer I believe according to the Word of God that you are now saved. Congratulations!! I'd be honored if you would leave a comment if you accepted Jesus by confessing from your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart God raised Him from the dead three days later. I pray God direct you to the church where you will feel right at home. Stay in the Word of God, and keep God first. He'll take you places you never dreamed of. 


As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

Happy Birthday To You Pastor Troy

"You encourage us with your style, commitment and passion." - F. Lugo

Today is my Pastor's birthday. Therefore I decided to not only wish him a happy birthday, but let the world know of a man who is chasing after God's heart. From my few years of being part of such an eclectic family of Potential, to my actual words exchanged with Pastor Troy Gramling and my encounters with a humble man who is easy going, soft spoken as a man, but a booming voice for God, I am glad God lead me to Potential Church.

It all started years ago in 2006. I was invited to share my testimony before hundreds at Potential Church (then Flamingo Road Church) and as I was praying backstage because I was very nervous to stand and speak before many, I remember as I raised my head up and opened my eyes after praying, I saw a tall man leaning against a wall. He looked tired and as I realized who stood before me, I was shocked to realize it was my very own Pastor. But I said to myself, 'This can't be him. I've seen him preaching the Word of God like a warrior...This is a Super Hero in my eyes.' Not knowing what to say to my Pastor, I said the only thing my finite mind could come up with that seemed intelligent and appropriate, I said "How's it going?" To which my Pastor replied, 'good.' I couldn't believe it! I spoke with my Pastor. What a thrill! A memorable moment in my life I would always be able to recall and thank God for.

But God spoke to me later concerning this divine encounter between my pastor and I. He said, 'Your amazement of this man is not amazement at all, but reverence for your leader. You were honored to be among him. This is called humility. You were thankful for the exchange of words although little. This is called being a child of God.' As I have heard my Pastor teach many times, there is one thing that never changes. I am always thrilled to hear from him again. Every time I attend service to hear what my pastor has to share with us that day from the pages of his heart, whether in person, or on a big screen because he is elsewhere doing the Lord's work or simply enjoying much needed rest, I am grateful to God for my Pastor and for God allowing our conversation to continue on.

I see my Pastor as a leader, and a hero. We all need to have heroes in our lives. And if that hero is in Christ Jesus, we should all be honored and thankful to God by always showing our respect and appreciation for the amazing job that hero; that leader, is doing in our lives and the lives of others. Let us never become familiar with our leaders and heroes whether we hear from them daily or not, but let us consistently rejoice with them always because God appoints all the leaders to their positions in life. That they who lead us triumphantly and victoriously may always be cherished, prayed for and encouraged. Why? They are people to and they as we, need to be loved, cherished and cared for also. Amen.

As I thought of a verse that would speak to my Pastor I thought it appropriate to not simply quote a verse, but rather speak a blessing over my Pastor. It's called the Priestly blessing: Pastor Troy may...

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26 NIV)


If you haven't known Pastor Troy and you haven't decided on a church to become part of their family, I invite you, I extend my hand in friendship towards you. I will be honored if you would come and join the celebration of God's grace that is Potential Church. Come to know a leader, a hero, a warrior, a husband, a father, a brother, a son, a man who is for God. His name is Troy Gramling and he is my Pastor. Amen.


Happy Birthday Pastor Troy.
As always...YOU ARE LOVED.