Christ Puts the Merry in Christmas | Jacqui Showers

Inspiration for Marketplace Influencers

In an award winning essay a young boy expressed his desire to have a Christmas tree. His mother would not allow him to have one because of the connotations of idol worship. This young boy made his case by outlining how his mother had taught him about Jesus and he understood the true meaning of Christmas. His prayer was that his mother would let him have a Christmas tree.

I was touched by the young boy’s earnest and sincere plea. You see, all too often we grasp a hold of something and stand on it as gospel. How many of us worship Christmas Trees? Not many, if any.

Perceived idol worship can be visualized in many forms. You see many of us take pride in wearing designer clothes and other paraphernalia. Is that worshipping them? This young man made a valuable point that if he completely understands the meaning of Christmas as being the birth of Jesus Christ why would he be denied having a tree.

You see, Christmas is a sacred time. Although our society has commercialized Christmas beyond recognition, you must always keep at the forefront what Christmas is all about. It is about a selfless act of love that God bestowed upon the earth with the priceless gift of His Son, Jesus, so we could not only have an abundant life here on earth, but we would have eternal life as well.

I ran across an article in the World NetDaily by Gary DeMar that identified some key elements to reinforce this young boy’s debate.

“Just because pagans might have used trees to worship their gods does not mean that we can’t use them to teach us something about God who has given us the “indescribable gift” of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 9:15). The Christmas tree, as it is now designated, is an evergreen that reminds us that we have “eternal life” in Jesus Christ (John 6:40). The shape of the tree reminds us that we are “born from above” (John 3:3). The needles on the branches remind us that Jesus was “pierced through for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5).’

The lights hung on the tree remind us that Jesus is “the light of the world” (John 8:12) and through Him we are to be “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). The ornaments we hang on the tree and the presents we place under the tree remind us that “every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17).’

Instead of condemning the Christmas tree as some pagan object brought into our homes from the pagan cold, it can be used to remind us that God promises us “the right to the tree of life” (Revelation 22:14).”

Apparently the mother had done a good job in teaching her son the meaning of Christmas. Yet, she did not have faith in her son and trust in what she had poured inside of him.

During this Christmas season, we must use it as an opportunity to share its true meaning. This is the time we celebrate God’s ultimate gift to mankind, the birth of His only begotten Son so the breach for our eternal existence would be repaired so we could have the right to everlasting life. God who loved us so much gave the ultimate gift for us to be free of the limitations of this world.

We don’t celebrate the Christmas tree, but we do celebrate the One who created the trees. We celebrate the one who gave man wisdom to design a Christmas tree so we can use it to share the blessing inherent in the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and the gift of eternal life.

Will you share the symbolism of Christ inherent in decorations to others in the marketplace? Can you see them yourself?

Scriptures

For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Jer 10:3-5 (KJV)

But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. Jer 10:10-11 (KJV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18 (KJV)

Prayer

Father, This is such an awesome time of year for me to share the goodness of the birth of Your son Jesus. What a gift You bestowed on humankind to redeem us as Your own so we can enjoy eternal life with You and Your son. Bless us not to squander this time, but to use it wisely to share the good news to a hurting world in order for them to be reconciled so they too can receive the same gift of eternal life. Amen

 

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Praise in the Marketplace | Jacqui Showers

Inspiration for Marketplace Influencers

Anyone who knows me knows if there is any dancing to be done, I will do it. Praise is simply what I do. I’ve been told that I replicate the dance of David. In essence, I simply enjoy playing with my God.

Praising moves beyond the act of dancing to a state of being. You see, it is more than a dance or running around the church. It is a lifestyle. Every day we praise God with what we do—with our vocations and interactions. This is even more apparent for those of us who work in the marketplace. How we manage ourselves has more to do with our praise than we think.

It is beyond the words we say to encompass the life that we lead. Every single day we go out into the marketplace and encounter people as we meander throughout our day. Our praise has more to do with our interactions with those who come into our spear of influence. How we treat them. The words we say to them. A big-gee is how we act when we think no one is watching.

How well we do our respective vocations provides praise because we realize that we don’t work for men, but God. Everything we do it is to praise Him. Regardless if someone is standing over our shoulders or not, we work heartily unto the Lord because we know that He is watching. It is as exhilarating as when I dance across the floor. Your adrenaline increases and an excitement explodes inside energizing you to keep dancing and never stop praising.

Our vocational praise translates into how well we do our respective vocations. It has nothing to do with if you are a business owner or you work for someone else, everything we do we do it with a spirit of excellence. Excellence always ignites praise!

Praising God with your talents and gifts eliminate procrastination, lack of confidence, and a host of other things that prevents you from praising your way to success. I encourage you to get up and dance…to praise as though you are out of your mind. The more you praise God, everything you do will succeed.

Are you praising God in the marketplace with unbridled excellence of spirit? Or, are you afraid to praise Him with your skills, talents, interactions, and commitment to Him?

Scriptures

Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Colossians 3:22-23 (KJV)

Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 150:1-6 (KJV)

Prayer

Father, I am praising You not only in the dance, but in my praise in the marketplace. Every skill, talent and encounter I will praise You so others experience Your glory. With unbridled joy I will praise You with a spirit of excellence executing a precision of rhythmic movements leading to success.  Amen.

 

Visit http://www.jassaipublishing.com to purchase Prayers for Success: Igniting the World to Achieve Success, Affirmations for Success: Daily Affirmations for the Marketplace, and I DECIDED: Move from Resolution to Execution.

Celebrate Memorial Day In Remembering Our War Heroes!

Greetings,

After May 2013, Memorial Day has never been the same for me. My sincere celebration of the holiday has taken on new meaning. Before I  celebrated Memorial Day more for the time with family than truly honoring the millions of fallen soldiers who gave their lives so we as Americans can enjoy freedom as no other nation. Now, I truly have an American Hero to celebrate.

My sister and best friend, Major Patricia Holmes-Ellison, led a command of soldiers, 273rd Military Police Company, in the 1991 Gulf War–having been one of the few women allowed to maintain leadership of a coed squad in combat. Early morning on May 14, 2013, she succumbed to lingering wounds from Desert Storm. She was a soldier’s soldier. Through her life, commitment to this country and death, I realized that these soldiers, even those who lost their lives, would fight again if given the opportunity. That is not to say that our country has always honored their efforts, commitment and ultimate sacrifice. I witnessed my sister fight for benefits that were rightfully hers being forced to prove that she was ever in combat.

Our patriotism for those who fight and sacrifice so much, even their lives, for us is grossly under celebrated. Not long ago I can remember the patriotism of America for those who had given their lives. Flags hung from houses as we were proud Americans honoring our war dead. In school we learned the battle and celebratory songs of this country in celebration of our country and those who gallantly served this country with honor and dignity. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance with pride knowing it united us not just as a nation, but as a country committed to God.

Today, most of our children don’t know those songs because of cuts from our music departments and we don’t sing them at home like we once did either. The majority of them don’t know the Pledge of Allegiance because God is mentioned and we are more concerned about offending rather than uniting in a corporate commitment to our country and our freedom.

Many of Americans are clueless about why we celebrate Memorial Day. Most of them feel it is another day off work; when in actuality it is a time for us to celebrate our war dead. These are the women and men who unselfishly gave of themselves and sacrificed the ultimate in battle, their lives, so we can have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Join me this Memorial Day to celebrate the millions of women and men who gave their lives so we as Americans can enjoy freedoms unlike any other nation. Pray for the strength of their families who lost their loved ones, some during battle and others later from wounds acquired during battle. Let us join together with pride knowing that their efforts and sacrifice will never be forgotten and they will never be in vain. We salute each of them throughout the history of America for their bravery, their courage and their sacrifice for us to be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Enjoy a blessed momentous Memorial Day

Jacqui Showers

The Bold Encourager
Chief Encouragement Officer

Waiting is No Longer an Option |Showers’ Blessing PicSpire | Jacqui Showers

Several years ago, my church, House of Prayer & Praise Ministries, released a CD project entitled, Expectancy. One of the tracks bellows out, “We cannot wait.” As I reflected on those words, it took me back to a book written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. entitled, “Why We Can’t Wait.”

The book outlines the plight of the Negro since arriving in America. Because of the injustices and inhumanity endured from the shores of Africa to the horrible middle passage, to slavery itself and to Jim-Crow, it meticulously outlined why the Negro could no longer wait to experience the same rights and privileges afforded their Caucasian counterparts. The literary work emphatically illustrates that the Negro was no longer going to wait but was ready to act and embrace all the promises as a citizen of the United States.

We still stand on the threshold of full equality in a nation that continues to want to relegate us to a subpar existence. As I think about the impending Voting Rights Act authored by the late Congressman John Lewis and civil rights leader and how there are those who still do not want us to exercise our full rights as citizens of this country, I unequivocally know that we cannot wait. The same things that were happening when Dr. King authored this book, are still prevalent today. In recent years, it has become even more overt.

We can no longer sit idly by while people who do not have our best interest, make decisions about our destiny. Last year, we frightened them to resort back to their “Jim Crow” antics and enact laws to create obstacles and barriers to prevent us from exercising our right to vote. Just like we voted and made a difference, we must have that same tenacity and crowd-power in every election. It is our crowd-power as African Americans that made a difference. It is our crowd-power as African Americans, who caused them to enact laws directly following that election. It is our crowd-power as African Americans where we will overcome any obstacles or barriers and exercise our rights and privileges. No, we cannot wait and are not waiting any more.

Each of us must be committed and dedicated to ensuring that every African American vote. It is our crowd-power that will make the difference. We have an obligation not to wait because of those who gave their lives for us. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others who paid the ultimate price for us to be free. We must honor Dr. King’s legacy by ensuring that we take advantage of our God-given rights and privileges.

We all reach a threshold where we can no longer wait as well. Many have not exercised their privileges and rights. The ugly face of racism prevented African Americans from experiencing the fullness of citizenship in a country they helped to build through their sweat, blood, and tears.

Oftentimes we find ourselves existing below our privilege because we have not tapped into the reservoir of resources that God has given us. No, it was never God’s intention for us to fret over the uncertainty of this world, but to walk in complete victory as we become all He created us to be. For centuries, African Americans were not allowed to experience the privileges inherent in citizenship because of the label of inferiority placed on them. In many instances, we are not experiencing all our rights and privileges, because of inferior labels inflicted on us by either ourselves or others.

There comes a time when you have to say I can no longer wait for change to take place, because I am going to be an active participant in making change happen. There comes a time when you can no longer idly watch life passing you by without developing and exercising your God-given gifts and talents. There comes a time when you no longer allow outside stimulus to prohibit you from tapping into an infinite reservoir of overflowing opportunities. There comes a time when you no longer live as a second-class citizen, and you begin to expect more because you know you are a first-class citizen. There comes a time when you say enough is enough. I am taking back everything that has been withheld from me.

This is the time for you to move from idleness to expectancy. You see expectancy involves action. Expectancy involves forward deliberate motion. When you expect something more, you no longer are immobilized by fear; and “no” and “I can’t” no longer has a place in the lexicon of your life. Your mindset has elevated to expect “yes” and “I can.”

Even when all around you is a raging storm of uncertainty, you realize that you dwell in the heart of the storm where there is abundant life. You come to realize that outward circumstances have no dominion over your inner peace. It is this inner peace and joy that propels you to steadfastly move with an expectation unimaginable. You move from limitation, to the unlimited potential inherent in you from the day you were born. What begins to happen is that the fragments of famine and negativity no longer can skew your vision, because your vision causes them to become a micro dot on the landscape of your life and they no longer control your destiny. Nothing and no one can prevent you from living out everything God envisioned for you.

Change your mindset! Expect more! Take action! Because you cannot afford to wait anymore!

Are you ready to take action? Are you ready to stop waiting, and be the change that makes things happen?

#MartinLutherKingDay #excellenceinservice #showersblessing

Safely Enjoy Your Christmas!

This year has been extreme! As we continue to be shuttered away from celebrating with family and friends in person, we learn to improvise in our celebrations. Last evening, I had a great time celebrating with my family via Zoom in our traditional Christmas Eve Gift Exchange.

Last year we were shuttered away from family and friends because of the pandemic. I recall not missing a beat when it came to coming together with my family. We celebrated our beloved holidays, not being together, yet we were together. Thank God for technology that affords us the ability to still connect with family.

After almost two years of uncertainty, we find ourselves still battling an invisible foe. It seems as though when we think that it is just about winding down, it rears its ugly head again. Most of us thought that we would be enjoying our families without trepidation of a killer virus that has taken so many. Yet, we continue to be in that place. Unlike last year, we are not shuttered away. Unfortunately, the numbers of those being afflicted by the virus, and even succumbing to it is on the increase.

As we celebrate this holiday season, let us remember why we do it. It is because a loving God gifted us with His only son, Jesus Christ. In an unselfish display of love, God gave His only begotten son that we would have eternal life and experience an abundant life here on earth. I believe beyond belief, that abundant life included us uniting together in the face of adversity. We are facing one of the worse adversities of my lifetime. A pandemic that appears to be relentless.

We have to be just as relentless and vigilant in our efforts to ensure a different outcome for Christmas 2022. It begins with each of us exhibiting that same unselfish love God demonstrated. It begins when we love each other enough to do what is right for ourselves and others. I continue to wear my love mask, even though I have been vaccinated and received the booster. These are love gestures in my commitment to living the two greatest commandments—to love God and to love my neighbor as I love myself.

You see, I want everyone to experience an awesome Christmas with their loved ones. It is my desire that there will not be an empty place at the table when families sit down because their loved one was snatched away by COVID. It is my hope and desire that our children will be able to attend school mask-free, without fear of catching a virus that they can potentially take home. I look forward to the day when we can gather together without fear of events becoming super spreaders.

Every time, I put my mask on, I envision the day when I won’t have to wear it. Until then, my love gift is to put it on so others and myself can live. During this holiday season, let’s continue to demonstrate love by doing what is necessary to annihilate this disease.

Have an awesome Merry Christmas as you safely enjoy your family and friends!

Jacqui Showers

The Bold Encourager
Business Encouragement Coach

Celebrate Memorial Day!

Greetings,

Every Memorial Day I remember my sister, Major Patricia Holmes Ellison, and her bravery, courage, and sacrifice. I witnessed a long painful process of sickness and disease from wounds when she served and was the only woman to lead a coed command in Desert Storm that ultimately caused her death.

Join me today and every Memorial Day as I remember, salute, and honor my sister and the countless women and men who gave their lives. These are the women and men who unselfishly gave of themselves and sacrificed the ultimate in battle, their lives, so we can have the right to the pursuit of happiness, liberty, and justice for all.

Let us pray for the strength of their families who lost their loved ones, some during the battle and some years later from wounds inflicted during the battle. Let us join with pride knowing that their efforts and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Today celebrate them for their bravery, their courage, and their sacrifice.

Enjoy a blessed momentous Memorial Day

Jacqui Showers

The Bold Encourager
Chief Encouragement Officer

Happy Mother’s Day!

Celebrate Loving Your Mother!

We pour out our love in all the accoutrements associated with Mother’s Day—cards, gifts, dinners and more. Nothing compares to the present of our presence and our enduring love for our mothers. These two Mother’s Day where we have not been able to participate in the traditional celebrations, it causes you to truly reflect on this day.

For me, it is remembering my Mother’s love for each of her bunch of kids—as she referred to the 10 of us. For those of us whose Mother has transitioned from this word to eternity, our memories have become our priceless companions. For those whose mothers are still with you, love on your Mother every day as if the very heartbeat of your life depends on it. In many ways, it does.

Celebrate Loving your Mother every day of your life!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Jacqui Showers

The Bold Encourager
Chief Encouragement Officer

15 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Excellence in Service Quotes|Showers’ Blessing Picspire | Jacqui Showers

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was a man committed to serving others with excellence. As you kick-off your week in celebration of Dr. King’s life and legacy, be committed to having a dream to serve others with excellence in everything you do.

1. “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
2. If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’
3. “the time is always right to do the right thing”
4. “On some positions, cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right? There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right.”
5. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”
6. “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
7. “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But…the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
8. “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
9. “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”
10. “If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.”
11. “Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service.”
12. “You may be 38 years old, as I happen to be. And one day, some great opportunity stands before you and calls you to stand up for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause. And you refuse to do it because you are afraid…. You refuse to do it because you want to live longer…. You’re afraid that you will lose your job, or you are afraid that you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity, or you’re afraid that somebody will stab you, or shoot at you or bomb your house; so you refuse to take the stand. Well, you may go on and live until you are 90, but you’re just as dead at 38 as you would be at 90. And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit.”
13. “The question is not if we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.”
14. “Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.”
15. “The end of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”

#MartinLutherKingDay #excellenceinservice #showersblessing

Embracing a New Year!

Happy New Year!

Even as we enter 2021 there is still a lot of uncertainty, but there is so much optimism that at the cessation of 2021 we will have moved closer to the normalcy we once knew and will have experienced awesome success in each of our endeavors. Normalcy in 2020 has been redefined. As much as we may long to resume our lives before COVID, we will never fully embrace that normalcy again.

There is a normalcy that each of us experience every day in some capacity. Even though sometimes we feel that it is not there. The love of God is always a part of our existence. Even amid the adversities and chaos of life, His love for us is forever present. No doubt God and His love will also be there with us throughout 2021. Regardless of what the vicissitudes of life my bring, God and His unconditional love is the greatest constant of our lives. The same constant of His love for us, each of us must be committed to that consistency of love for each other.

We awakened this morning in a new year. Some of the same issues are confronting us. Together, in love, we can conquer them. As we move further from the holidays, incorporating love, compassion, and grace into our lives becomes even more paramount. I am committed to love God, others, and myself in bringing about some semblance of normalcy as we knew it. I do hope you join me in that commitment as we face another year united together with love as our cornerstone to increase our faith and hope for a prosperous and successful year.

Have a Happy Blessed New Year!

Jacqui Showers

The Bold Encourager
Chief Encouragement Officer

Celebrating Family Love @ Christmas!

Celebrating Family on Christmas Day!

This year has been extreme! As we continue to be shuttered away from celebrating with family and friends in person, we learn to improvise in our celebrations. Last evening, I had a great time celebrating with my family via Zoom in our traditional Christmas Eve Gift Exchange.

We sang. We laughed. We played games. We reminisced of Christmas past. We exchanged gifts in our usual fashion of storytelling. Most importantly, we loved on each other. Although we could not physically be with each other our traditions continued, and it did not lessen our celebration as our love for each other is stronger than ever.

During this time, be creative in how you reach out to your family. Love is demonstrated in so many ways. More than ever, this year, we have had to creatively love family and friends at a distance. I have come to realize that enduring this separation for a little while, pales in comparison to doing what I need to do to ensure we will come together face-to-face once again to celebrate so many more Christmases.

Is it difficult? Yes, and no. Perspective is everything.

Jesus came to dwell in the earth for a little while. God knew he would not be here forever, but God wanted each of us to experience the special love He has for humankind. So, He sent his only Son to come to earth so we would not have to be restricted to the limitations of this world, but to live an abundant liberated life and to live with Him for all of eternity. Such an awesome act of love for a life-long and eternal reward.

We find ourselves in that same situation. Such an awesome act of love as we separate for a little while to experience each other for a lifetime. Thank God for creativity! He provided us with creative resources through technology to still connect with family and friends. We may not be able to touch them physically, but our hearts continue to be intertwined in love regardless of the distance.

As you celebrate this Christmas creatively with family and friends, enjoy distance, yet closeness, of a family’s love. Remember, it is only for a little while and then we will all be physically together once again.

Have an awesome Merry Christmas!

Jacqui Showers

The Bold Encourager
Business Encouragement Coach