My Divine Notes

Psalm 56:9 When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me. I have learned that I must rely on God in all things – big and small. I must cry out to him when I’m dealing with life. I tend to want to handle things on my own, but I have a bad track record. I’m not good without God. We can rely on God when we know God. We can decide that God is a stranger and choose not to know him or we can get to know him so we can rely on him when the enemy approaches. The enemy will approach. Know God. Let God be on your side.

Psalm 62:1 I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. There’s nothing harder for a creative person than to be quiet and not say, suggest or do things that are better left unsaid or undone. It’s hard for me not to want to race ahead and implement my own ideas rather than waiting for God’s word. Quiet waiting is an improvement opportunity for me. Some decisions need to be left quietly to God. It saves us anguish, second-guessing and turmoil. If you like to claim victory, step back. Do you really want the victory for yourself or do you want God to give you victory? Wait quietly for God.

Proverbs 27:9 The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. I am writing this note because I have been blessed with friends whom I consider gifts from God. I am a blessed woman because I have known the love of friends since I was a child. It amazes me the way that God wired us to love certain people enough to call them friends. I have an assortment of friends, men and women, who are very different in race, education, economic status, career, job and religious status. Each one of them brings a unique perspective to my life. I love those moments when we both agree without ever saying a word. Some of my closest friends don’t even live close by. Yet it’s like they are next door. Before social media made life more accessible, we would trade letters – gasp! That always blows me away. Some of these friends may not necessarily feel as passionately about God as I do or even believe he exists. And it still works because God knows ...

Psalm 103:17 But the Lord's love for those who respect him continues forever and ever, and his goodness continues to their grandchildren. Me, my sister and our grandmother. My grandmother came to know God intimately later in life. I followed in her footsteps. I remember how passionately she loved God. It was crazy love. She woke up early to pray and to talk to God. She constantly talked about God’s love and goodness to everyone. She ministered to people in hospitals. I followed in her footsteps. Family members say I even have her tough attitude. J I smile as I remember thinking how crazy she was about the Lord. As a teenager, she embarrassed me with all that God talk . Little did I know that I would be zapped with God’s forever love and that it would change my entire life, too!   \0/ Now I’m crazy in love with the Lord! Like grandmother, like granddaughter - God's forever love continues.  

Psalm 56:8 You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? I can tell you all about wandering. I did it very effectively for decades. During the wandering years, I felt a powerful tug in my spirit especially when things weren’t exactly peachy in my life. I cried the tears of a prodigal daughter on many occasions, and at times I caught glimpses of God’s compassion for me -- yet I refused to take hold of his hand. God tenderly waited for me like a Good Father until I decided to come home.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (GW) 8 “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” There is something peaceful in knowing that God is in control and that I, Blanca, don’t have to know it all. Our culture operates with a need to know urgency. The more you know, the faster you know it, the more successful you are considered. For those of us with personalities that are naturally curious, well, it’s a 24-hour race to want to know who, what, why and how -- and to know it first. Knowing God changed that for me. Sure I ask why, but now I am certain that there are things God may not want me to know in this life. I state this because he has already shaken up my world by letting me know the things that I do need to know, that I preferred to ignore. My prayer is that you get to have an intimate relationship with the Lord, so...

Psalm 103:14-16 14 He knows what we are made of.    He remembers that we are dust. 15 Human life is like grass;    we grow like a flower in the field.  16 After the wind blows, the flower is gone,     and there is no sign of where it was. Since I have come to have an intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe, urgency exists in my soul. I have a finite amount of time to share what God has done in my life. I feel like I’m racing against time. I appreciate each day of my life. I wake up happy that I woke up! I am glad that I know my purpose and that I am here for God’s significant reason. It amazes me when people say they are bored, helpless, lost or have nothing to do. Most people go through life without personal visions, missions or without knowing why God created them. Many of us also engage in ‘busyness’ but live silently desperate lives not knowing why we were created. You are here for God’s purpose. Granted, som...

11-11-11 Psalm 103 8 The Lord is tender and kind. He is gracious. He is slow to get angry. He is full of love. 9 He won't keep bringing charges against us. He won't stay angry with us forever. 10 He doesn't punish us for our sins as much as we should be punished. He doesn't pay us back in keeping with the evil things we've done. 11 His love for those who have respect for him is as high as the heavens are above the earth. Many people who have book or religious knowledge of God tend to fear him. They may blame God for unanswered prayers. They may feel unworthy to go to him because they aren’t walking on the straight path. Some folks just don’t even know if they believe in God, but they hear that small, still voice in their hearts. That small, still voice tends to stay with us until we finally make that connection to God. I want to assure you that God is a compassionate and loving father. There’s nothing that you have done (or failed to do) that he...

11-11-11 Psalm 119:59 I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. Today is Veteran’s Day in the United States. We remember, we celebrate and also thank those who are serving or who have served in the military and support organizations. It’s the perfect day to write this note that’s been developing in my spirit. People frequently ask me why I love God and have such a positive outlook. Surely I haven’t experienced tragedies or trials that make me wonder about the faithfulness of God? They think my life is perfect and that God is constantly waving his wand of blessings over me. Some of the questions I’ve been asked include: How can I be sure that God is there? Why is this happening to the one I love? God won’t forgive me for blaming him for whatever tragedy, etc. Why is this tragedy happening to me/to those I love, etc.? I’ve fallen away from God and cannot find the road back to him. God can never forgive me for the bad things I’ve done or th...

Revelation 20:11-15 (KJV) 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. I smiled at the Lord when he inspired me to be thankful for the book of life and the last book of the Bible, Revelation. God knows that I feared death for the better part of my life because I was only a church-going ...

November 5, 2011 Psalm 71:5 “For you are my hope, O Lord God.” Definition (from Dictionary.com) Hope (noun) - the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best Hope (verb used with object) - to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. - to believe, desire, or trust Life is hard without hope – without God’s hope.   Many confuse God’s hope with setting goals, planning and self-driven ideals. What they find is that they can line up goals and achieve them, but still have that empty, hopeless spot in their heart. There’s also reality. Life is hard for many people around the world today. Many suffer debilitating illnesses (both physical and mental), lack of jobs, tight finances, family and relational stresses, just name it, etc. Before I allowed God to help me live life as it was meant to be lived on earth, I allowed my circumstances to make me feel hopeless. My thoughts, actions and emotions controlled the realities of ...

November 4, 2011 1 Corinthians 1:19, 20, 21, 25 19 Scripture says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will reject the intelligence of intelligent people.” 20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the persuasive speaker of our time? Hasn't God turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense? 21 The world with its wisdom was unable to recognize God in terms of his own wisdom. So God decided to use the nonsense of the Good News we speak to save those who believe. 25 God's nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. At 17, I thought that I had all the wisdom anyone could ever want. The pattern continued throughout my life. I confused personal drive, intelligence, personality, savvy-ness and even my gift of empathy and caring with wisdom. I gained lots of college knowledge, mind knowledge, business knowledge and I confused insightful living with wisdom. The people around me thought I had wisdom. I thought...

November 2, 2011   1 Corinthians 13:3b But I gain nothing if I do not have love. Deep down on many levels, I was always afraid to love because I didn’t trust.  As I’ve come to know the everlasting and limitless love of Jesus Christ, I have to make changes to the way I love. I still find myself falling into the old habits of judging, hedging and hesitating because I may be hurt or disappointed. When I do not love unconditionally, I shut out the gifts God wants to give others through me and vice versa. I’ve come to realize that I am selfish when I don’t love. I don’t have to like those I love, but something amazing happens when you love people you really don’t like. They become “like-candidates” because you realize that God wired them, so they must have a purpose -- even if you can’t figure out what it might be.  J And that’s fine. In essence, loving God means loving others. Love because God loves you. I f God made us and asks us to love, why don’t we try it? Why no...

Nov. 1, 2011 Dear friends, I was inspired by one of my newest Twitter friends, Leigh Gray , to be intentionally thankful for people in my life by writing appreciation notes during November. I'm also going to write about being thankful and grateful this month. O LORD of my life, thank you for a new month. Show me how to be grateful for those around me. They matter to you. Let my life reflect my passionate love for you. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ♥