I’m very excited to announce that I have published my first book, a children’s book, and it’s now available on Amazon!

A special thanks to Urusa (graphic_tones) on Fiverr—she did an amazing job on my illustrations, and I highly recommend her!

The book is described as “a Christian book for children about gratitude”. It is dedicated to my Mama; she has always believed in me!

It was the season of Thanksgiving when the vision for my book about gratitude began to come to life. A few months ago, I wrote a poem—“The Gift of a Dozen Reasons”, and I posted it to my blog. I sent the poem to a friend of mine, and she told me I should make it into a children’s book. So, that’s exactly what I did! By the time Thanksgiving came, my book was just weeks away from being in my very own hands, just in time to give to Mama on Christmas Day. Daddy used to write poems for Mama and give them to her on special occasions. I guess you could say that’s a part of him that lives on inside of me.

The God of the Bible, the true and living God, is being made more and more scarce. “You are your own God” is the message of this generation. This is not only false, but it places our youth in a position where they are robbed of knowing their Father, God. His glory is present in all of creation, everything created with intention, with purpose—especially His children. God loved you and I so much that He created us. As Ephesians 1:4 states, He chose us before the foundation of the world. We were created for a reciprocation of that love through gratitude—a very powerful form of worship; we were made for worship. When we worship and/or rely on ourselves, we will always fall short.

This is the message I hope would fill the youth of this generation: Give thanks to the Lord, for you, just as all of creation, were created with a purpose.

There’s always something to be grateful for; we have to get this part right. Gratitude drives out anxiety—the two cannot exist together! Perhaps this is why the Bible tells us to worry about nothing and instead, to pray and give thanks in everything. (Philippians 4:6)

Giving thanks is a very potent form of worship. Choosing to be grateful in the face of pain, misfortune, or tragedy is possibly one of the the greatest ways we can worship as it’s a testament of our faith. When we choose to be grateful and choose to worship God despite not being able to see the bigger picture, despite not having all the answers, we are showing Him we trust Him; we are showing Him we are faithful.

Whenever I feel anxious, afraid, angry, I immediately turn on worship music. It’s not always easy; in the beginning, before I knew of it’s power, it was never easy. When you feel angry, the last thing you want to do is submit yourself, to surrender, to give praise to someone. When you feel anxious or afraid, all you want is confirmation about whatever it is that’s causing the anxiety or fear. Having the faith to lay it down at the feet of God and praise Him takes strength, but you must be strong in your faith before you will ever see it’s fruit.

The one who remains steadfast in worship is a force to be reckoned with against the enemy. Satan will try everything he can to keep you from worship, to keep you from being grateful. He knows that worship and gratitude equals peace, and his mission is to keep you away from that peace! Spiritual warfare is designed to pull us away from God. It’s up to us to fight.

I want to encourage you to engrave these words on your heart as I have my own—no matter what may come my way, I will continue to praise God; I will continue to find things to be grateful for; I will continue to worship.