© 2011 by SeriousEncouragement.com, LLC www.seriousencouragement.com

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN: 1456586157

ISBN-13: 9781456586157

E-Book ISBN: 978-1-4392-7916-8

Preface

“Thank you for visiting SeriousEncouragement.com, An Inspirational Stop on the Information Highway.” I love saying that! For me it’s a statement of victory. A victorious statement on the back drop of some Serious Defeat! I am truly thankful for the statement and hope that you have a statement of victory similar, drawn from your own experiences. The following is my gift to the Universe, the first part being my testimony and the second part being what I learned on my journey through the wilderness. A testimony of how something wonderful was created during a dreadful time.

One of my favorite quotes by Napoleon Hill says, “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” That is my hope for this book that it will help you succeed in whatever may be your endeavor. It is my first attempt at a book so go easy on me. My prayer is that it will bless you and continue to bless others. It was a lot more difficult to write than I initially thought so many powerful things happened during this trail but again I am happy to share what I have been inspired to.

My life has been a good one, I have no complaints. I was born and raised in Buffalo, New York where I learned to enjoy long winters and short but perfect summers. My father was absent from the home but my mother provided well. The two of them divorced when I was three I believe. My mother had my two older sisters when she married my father so when they divorced she left with the three of us. I vaguely remember spending some time with my father after the divorce and his new family.

My mother moved onto a street that even though it was located on the east side of Buffalo, universal translation for “east side” is “the hood”, the street was lined with trees and filled with children and play. Although we had our share of inner city drama like all inner city neighborhoods, fights, drugs, fights, overzealous police, fights, foot races, fights, street football, fights, and fights. It was a good life because with all of that there was a ton of love.

I had a tremendous high school experience. I had great relationships in high school, got along with mostly everyone. I was a lettered athlete, lettering in both football and track. I was a member of probably the most talented school band in the country consisting of both elementary and high school students. Our school was unique in that it was what was termed as a “magnet” school which I believe was so termed because it was part of the forced busing program with children traveling from all over the city of Buffalo to attend, like a magnet, I guess. The school grade range went from 5th to 12th grade. I actually attended there for that entire duration. If our band directors knew better they really would have promoted us, although we did record an album so they were somewhat conscious. I met the love of my life in high school and although we went our separate ways once I graduated, 25 years later we found each other and decided to make it official. She is still the love of my life. This story is also another book.

I graduated from my college prep high school, on time, finishing third in my class of 111. Went to college where I played two years of college football, had some of the best times in my life and met some of the best people. Then I graduated in four years with a degree in Computer Science and found a job immediately after college, started a month after graduation.

My IT career was a prosperous one and afforded me great opportunities. My first job out of college allowed me to travel. I traveled to just about all 50 states. There is nothing like the experience of being young and traveling on company paid trips! I could write a book on that part of my life as well. Although not all of it would be appropriate for children or people whose Christian sensibilities were way too high. I was also blessed to travel to Europe where I spent two weeks in merry ole England, beautiful. The travel was a significant portion of my life not just because of the fun I had but because growing up we could not afford to travel, I consider it a blessing that I was afforded the opportunity.

Later I felt and answered the call to ministry and realized that I had a preaching gift that lay dormant my entire life. My ministry career took off like a rocket. I received my calling at one of the largest African American churches in Cincinnati, Ohio and the preaching and teaching opportunities there were tremendous. I was well received as a minister, preacher and a teacher. Initially I mainly worked with the youth and then moved on to be the co-director of Christian education where I sat under a well learned mentor. The experience was beyond my expectations.

During this time I was married, had two wonderful children and received my Master’s degree in Theology. I also founded and Pastored Refuge Christian Church which was one of the most amazing manifestations of my life. That is another story in my life that would make a good book as well.

For all intents and for all purposes I have lived a beautiful life, no complaints. But somewhere, somehow I lost sight of all this beauty. Lost sight of the charm and all the blessing my life was yielding. Somewhere I lost my intention and started living by default and not by intention. Somewhere I began to put more faith in the blessings than in the source of the blessings. Suddenly the wheels of my life came off, all at the same time and I did not realize I had been driving an eighteen wheeler. Before I knew what was happening, I was going through a divorce, church membership was dwindling down to nothing which made it impossible for us to maintain the mortgage on the building we had moved into. The mortgage situation lead me to make the ill fated decision of entering a land contract with two of the most notorious people I have ever met. Just thinking and writing about my dealings with them gives me a knot in my stomach the size of Cleveland. Talk about bringing life to a phrase, I truly made a deal with the devil which I paid for dearly.

Simultaneously I was dealing with, divorce (which lead to baby mama drama), foreclosure on the church building, foreclosure on my new home, filing of bankruptcy and legal issues due to breach of contract with the devil, I mean my notorious land contract business partners. I saw the inside of a court room more than Law and Order. All of that brings me to this point in my life which at first I was ashamed of. How could someone who lived such a charmed life be brought so low? I asked myself.

At any rate, these next few pages are part of my testimony which I was inspired to share with the world. You will also read what I learned or better said, what I know after going through these situations. I have attempted to keep the chapters short, concise and to the point, they may leave you wanting more but they should give you what you need to push through your personal journey. Each of these short chapters is a summary of the “Spiritual Milestones” that I achieved on my journey. I hope that you find them a blessing and encouraging in to your life.

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to all those who have stood by me during my difficult times. I thank you for your support and truly pray that this work makes you proud and feel that your support of me was worth while.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

1     Foreclosure, To believe or not to believe

2     SeriouEncouragement.com

3     The Universal Vision!

4     Don’t Look Down

5     Stay Strong

6     What to do with It?

7     They Call Mae Zilla!

8     God and Me

9     Direction

10   Persistence

11   Core Genius

12   The Spirit of the Thing

13   First and Second Cause

14   Extinction of the Evil Trinity

15   God the Same Inside and Outside

16   Conclusion

1

Foreclosure, To believe or not to believe

“Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.”

~ Napoleon Hill

Due to some self inflected financial problems, I found myself dealing with a home foreclosure. As a consequence I began working with a Home Assistance group called NACA, in an effort to rectify the situation. NACA was wonderful to work with. Although slightly unorganized they were wonderful. Even with the one hour hold times and the fact that every time I spoke with a NACA representative they were eating something which under normal circumstances would have seemed rude but I knew they were fighting for me and I was grateful for the help.

The experience was somewhat degrading though, not because they talked to me as if I were a child, or put me on hold after already being on hold but because I realized I had brought all this on myself. I was living well below where I should. I felt that the pictures I had created of my life were not worthy of me. Not even close! I knew I had greatness inside me, strength, power, deep inside but I just could not seem to connect with it. I asked just like many do, “How in the hell did I get to this point?” Believe me when I tell you it was a less than empowering experience.

Earlier that same year I had been introduced to “The Secret” and the teachings/message blessed me. It started me on the journey to the new me. Although I was feeling better about my situation the “knot” in my solar plexus was still huge and I was continuing to have trouble concentrating at work and when I was with my children my mind would drift off to what I thought might be an inevitable end of the foreclosure, the humiliating loss of my home. I would become frustrated with myself over these thoughts because I knew better. I knew I was creating a scenario in my life that did not exist and creating the scene with the most negative outcome possible.

At the time, I was beginning to embrace the teachings of “The Secret” but I was not practicing them. Then it hit me! Be thankful because you “know better!” I told myself, “Be thankful that now you know the truth and that the way you are feeling is an indicator that you are not in alignment with where you want to be.”

The joy of the thought rushed through my body. I was so excited because I knew how to fix the situation. I began focusing my mind on “infinite supply”, the supply that God had had stored up for me and ready to deliver at need. I asked myself the question, “why in the world do I need a mortgage or any other financial assistance when I am connected to infinite supply?” Better said, by Robert Collier, “The Spiritual substance from which all wealth is obtained is never depleted but is with you always and responds to your faith in it and your demands on it.”

The quote came rushing to me on a day in August when I was at one of my highest anxiety levels. I repeated it over and over both audibly and mentally. Slowly the anxiety was replaced with a feeling of faith and certainty.

2

SeriousEncouragement.com

All we have willed or hoped or dreamed of good, shall exist, Not its semblance, but itself.

~ Robert Browing

One evening while on my lawnmower I was hit with a “pay off my home” idea. The idea was a website that contained an Affirmation Database loaded with affirmations and quotes grouped by category. Users could come to the site, select from a dropdown list of emotional categories, anger, fear, discouragement, sadness, etc. and receive a quote/quotes designed to combat the negative emotion.

As the thought grew in my mind I remembered Joe Vital, one of the Secret teachers, saying that when inspirational thought comes you must act upon it. So I did just that. I set up steps for myself, 1st purchase the domain name and hosting for “SeriousEncouragement.com”, 2nd learn PHP because GoDaddy didn’t seem to support the JAVA programming language (I believe they do though), 3rd Don’t “half step” be determined to get this site up and running.

That week I did just that and began coding the web pages and uploading pictures. Once I had the site up I had a few people take a look. The site was primitive initially but the first impressions were favorable. After this initial inspirational wave the idea sat for awhile while God worked on me and brought me in closer alignment. One thing is for sure a foreclosure notice can really have a focusing effect on faith.

After a few weeks past, the idea came to let my Facebook family know about the site. It was fairly well received but my staunch Christian friends wanted to know if I read the Bible or went to church since I promoted teachings of “The Secret.” I wanted to reply, “MF’s, while y’all was club’n I was preach’n and get’n a Masters Degree in Theology!!” But I held my peace.

From that point I was led to set up a twitter account for SeriousEncouragement.com, mind you, I had tried this before using my own name but there were no follows. Once I set twitter up for SeriousEncouragement.com I began to follow some of my favorite teachers from The Secret, Lisa Nichols, Jack Canfield, and Michael Bernard Beckwith. To my surprise Lisa Nichols began to follow me!! I was not sure if the “follow” was an automatic “follow” or personal, either way I was excited. I began following other Secret teachers and soon began getting “follows” of my own, completely unsolicited. It was like a wave!! It felt good!!

The next wave of SeriousEncouragement.com inspiration came during a morning meditation, “Create a video series.” I did not hesitate. That week I purchased a webcam and began preparing the first message. The progression of ideas was amazing. All of my natural talents and abilities were being used to get me where I wanted to be. I am a web developer by trade so coding the website was easy. I also spent 15 years in ministry, had my own local cable TV show and had done radio both of which required me to speak with no audience. So standing in front of a webcam posted up on a speaker stand was easy as well. Again, I remember Joe Vital saying in The Secret that when the inspirational idea hit it would be something that was easy, something that you could do all day. The universe knew the most harmonious way to get you where you needed to be. I taped and uploaded the first installment of “Living Life from the Inside Out” and the creative force in me came alive so strong that I could not stop smiling for a week.

I then began to envision SeriousEncouragement.com encouraging millions of people and each person donating $1.00. Envisioning and feeling the first $1.00 hitting the PayPal account and celebrating like it was $1,000,000.00. To my surprise my donations had soon surpassed anything I had expected.

To date SeriousEncouragement.com has done just what it was inspired by the Universe to do, bring “Serious Encouragement” to millions of people world wide. The expansion and growth of the website tremendously exceeded all my expectations and visions. It has truly been amazing, a blessing of the highest magnitude.

3

The Universal Vision!

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.

~ Napoleon Hill

One morning while on my morning jog and fighting a bout of anxiety I had a vision. During the jog the anxious feeling in my solar plexus was so severe that I thought I wouldn’t be able to run. All of the anxiety was due to the foreclosure notifications on my home. I am just so thankful that I was introduced to The Secret, and for the Laws of Attraction and Growth.

I knew the anxiety was completely throwing off my vibrations and that I was only attracting more anxious feelings. I began to recite the affirmation given in The Secret by Charles Hannell, “I AM Whole, Perfect, Strong, Powerful, Loving, Harmonious and Happy.” I recited this affirmation over and over, it was on “repeat” play mode in my mind. I could feel the anxiety begin to fade and it give way to the most beautiful vision. There were seven large flat screen displays encircling me. The screens were swirling around me like the planets orbit the sun and I was holding them in place via my faith. I realized that this was my universe and the pictures on each screen were the images of my life. Then I realized, like the big touch screen on CNN, I could change the pictures. One by one I stopped each screen, examined the image displayed, determined if it was to my liking and if not quickly used the touch screen functionality to remove the old image and drag in a new.

When I got to the screen containing the foreclosure, for a minute I didn’t know what to do. This was the worst of all, a true horror movie for me. So I began to redesign the scene. I started reasoning, which I knew was coming from God, since I am in touch with infinite supply and since the life in me is inseverably connected to the life in all and that life is entirely devoted to my personal advancement, then, what need is there for a mortgage or a reworking of the mortgage. God could easily supply me with the money not only to buy my home but also to continue maintaining it.

I could feel the energy level in my hope rise. I could hear the words of scripture with clarity saying, “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” I knew that not even foreclosure, courts, or banks could stop me from having what I believed I deserved and worked for, what I wanted. I was determined to believe this and hold on to the belief. It was liberating and the relief that followed was tremendous. Before I knew it I had jogged all the way back to my street! Although I was dripping with sweat I didn’t even remember the run. It was a wonderful experience. Afterward it was difficult, at first to hold the feeling of belief and relief but as I pushed it became easier and soon the anxiety faded and was replaced with faith.

The money came just like I believed it would. I will never forget the day I lived the vision I had seen so many times. Walking into the bank and requesting a certified check in the full amount of my home loan! I mailed that payment off and it was the best feeling. Only being eclipsed by the follow-up phone call I had with the bank when I told them I had mailed in the funds. To be free of the burden was a monumental victory and life has not been the same since.

4

Don’t look down!

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

~ Isaiah 41:10

One morning on my jog while really focusing on creating new images of my life and continually telling myself that “I AM, Whole, Perfect, Strong, Powerful, Loving, Harmonious and Happy” I had a vision. I saw myself lifted above not only the earth but all my circumstances, even the new creation. When I looked down I could see my feet hovering over the circling flat screens and the heap of old circumstances. When I looked up I was in a beautiful room, it was quiet, peaceful and the colors were soft brown with gold shelves on the wall that extended infinitely to the left, right, up, and down. It was/is my room of abundance but even more striking was the feeling I got when I looked down! It was the immediate fear of “heights” as if I were on a high wire.

Something deep within me spoke, and stated, “Don’t look down!!” The voice kept directing me to keep my mind focused on the abundance and comfort of my room. This is where all my supply, health, wealth, joy, comfort, peace, and strength originated. It is where I could always find peace where I could be assured life was right!!! From here would originate the same outward facing harmonious conditions.

So today, I remind myself not to look down. To look down is to place my focus on the outside which is “second cause”, rather than on the abundance of “my room” which is “first cause”. I will explain both of these terms in greater detail in a later chapter.

I feel at peace knowing that I know where my strength and help comes from. I am a wealthy man. I am greater than my circumstances. I realize that greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. I like what the rapper Dorrough says, “Clean on the inside, Cream on the outside, Ice Cream, Ice Cream, paint job!!”

Life is good, life is tremendous, no fear. There is no circumstance that is too difficult or that will overtake me. I am truly in control of my destiny. The eternal supply, the Universe, My God, never fails, never sleeps, is never depleted and my room is never closed. I AM Whole, Perfect, Strong, Powerful, Loving, Harmonious and Happy. The life in me is inseverably connected to the life that exists in all and is entirely devoted to my person advancement. Amen!

5

Stay Strong!

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

~ Walt Disney

I don’t know how many times I wanted to collapse under the pressure of the external forces I was looking at. I know how the children of Israel felt when they spied into the Promised Land and saw the great tribes. When they reported back to Moses they called the inhabiting tribes “giants” and said they made them feel like grasshoppers! My external circumstances made me feel the same way.

How do you stand up against the bank? How do you stand up against the court and the legal system? It was overwhelming but then came the minority report which was given by the spies in that story whom believed, that victory was assured because they had the LORD on their side. I could hear that voice from deep within me say, “Stay Strong!!”

If I kept my mind and feelings focused on the Infinite Supply there were absolutely no worries. If the birds were fed daily without stress and if the flowers were made in beautiful life giving colors how much more would I be taken care of? If I, being an earthly father, didn’t want my children to suffer, washed their clothes, cooked (to the best of my ability), protected and cared for them, how much more would my Father in Heaven do for me. These thoughts gave me what I needed to stay strong!! Focusing on the Infinite, the Universe, My LORD, let me know that there was nothing that could stop me. Since He is with me I am greater than an army against me.

My job was to keep believing, keep visualizing the life I wanted, keep my will strong and remain in my right faculties not only until the victory was won but right on through to the other side because there is absolutely no stopping or failure!!! Stay Strong, because the life that is in me is inseverably connected to the life that exists in all and is entirely devoted to my personal advancement. Yez Zirrr and Amen!!!

6

What to do With It?

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

~ Job 23:10

I believe the most important thing in life is to keep living. I realized going through my situation that no matter what happened with my house I had to keep living. The faith that I was developing and growing in was not just for my current situation but for the remainder of my life. Because regardless of how the situation worked out I had to keep living, I had to continue to raise my children, I had to continue to work, I had to keep it moving. I could not be paralyzed, afraid to live and afraid to die, it was imperative that I kept things moving forward.

At the time of this writing there were so many people around me whose lives were on fire but didn’t really know or understand what I knew. So I had to stay strong for them. My children were thriving so successfully and seemed to be the happiest they had been in years since the divorce, I had to keep it moving. I had to press from moment to moment. I could not afford to have failures on any day. Days became complete encapsulations where my entire focus was just and only just the day. Tomorrow didn’t matter and yesterday was gone. Day by day I had to figure out “What to do with it”, “it” being the Law of Attraction, “It” being my relation to the Infinite, the Universe, My LORD. “What to do with “It?”

Do I go back and look for secondary causes that might help my situation? Should I try to sell the house before they foreclosed? Should I try another advocacy group? Should I talk with my bankruptcy attorney tell him I was abandoning the house and let’s lump it in to my CH13. “What to do with “It?”

The answer to that question is, “Believe in It!!” With all your heart, mind and soul, make sure that there is absolutely no part of you that is not in agreement. If there is a twitch in your foot due to the stress of your current circumstance bring that “Mau Fuka” under subjection!! If the feeling in your solar plexus is not calm (a nervous feeling in your gut) bring it under subjection. Command that every fiber, molecule of your being believe in the success that is set before you. Sit in a quiet well lit room and visualize the success as though it has already happened. Feel the feeling of it. Feel how you will feel when you are healed!! Feel how you will feel when the money comes!! Feel how you will feel when you have harmony on the inside and the outside!! Feel all the good you can right now and hang on to it as long as you can or as Esther Hicks advises at least 68 seconds.

7

They Call Mae Zilla!

Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.

~ Christian D. Larsen

During this time period after praying for a hundred specific things the LORD had me get into the “Spirit of the thing” and figure out what it was that I really wanted. After analyzing everything I was asking for I summarized it as “Security.” What I really wanted was to feel completely secure. Secure in my finances, secure in my work, secure in my health, secure in my relationships, etc.

To even go deeper I wanted to be and to feel larger than my current circumstance. Knowing that being created in the image and likeness of God meant that I was so much more than I had become. The LORD had me look over all that I had manifested in my life, degree completions, years of ministry, teaching and counseling, founding and Pastoring of a church, purchasing a church building and so much more. As I reflected on the good rather than the bad, as I reflected on how God had walked with me and worked through me, as I realized all the people I had blessed via ministry, preaching and teaching, I began to feel “HUGE” on the inside! I could feel faith and accomplishment eclipsing fear and worry. I would close my eyes and immediately see all the things that I wanted and I realized that it meant I had received them because everything beings on the inside. The Kingdom of God is within you! The feeling was tremendous!

One day while driving to work and listening to an old Busta Rhymes CD. He spit a line at the end of which he said “Call mae GodZilla!” It immediately resonated throughout my entire being as the description of the feeling I had on the inside. I felt so big, big as GodZilla and just as powerful. Just like those in the Bible whom had grown larger than their circumstance and were given a new name, so had I, Zilla!

I am an avid roller skater and my skate nickname was “B-Lo” short for my hometown of Buffalo, New York which was appropriate at the time since I was living in Cincinnati, Ohio. I immediately changed that to “Zilla”, I used the name on everything, things were now described as “Zillafied”, called my children, “Zillalings”, ended statues on facebook with “So So Zilla.” The feeling and the name were perfectly harmonious.

The Lord gave me the idea to have an empowerment conference, an effort to express Zilla to everyone, to help everyone found their “Zilla” in their particular situation. As always when inspiration hits, I move. I talked with my nephew and his poetry team back in Buffalo and explained to them that I wanted to have an empowerment seminar and call it “Creation of the Zilla Nation.” They were floored by the idea. We set a date and the Lord began to put everything in place. My friend Shelia and her sister Kim set us up with the venue at the place Kim was working at the time. We were able to get the event advertised on facebook, locally and in Buffalo. The event was a tremendous success and the “Zilla Nation” was born.

8

God and Me

The life in me is inseverably connected to all life that exists and is entirely devoted to my personal advancement

~ Judge Thomas Troward

Our lives are reflections of what we believe the extensions of our faith. When we observe a person living with great wealth we are viewing their reflection. When we observe a person existing in poverty we are viewing their reflection. Whether we know it or not we have the power of creation given to us as a birthright, the power to create our lives as we desire. For most of us this idea is completely foreign and moves in the opposite direction of what we have been taught. But our true power lies in being conscious of the direction in which God designed life to be lived, awareness of being created in the image and the likeness of God and its significance. Understanding that what we term as “miracles” and “exceptions to the rule” are the norm in the Kingdom of God. So few of us live our lives by faith that it is unusual to see individuals living above the poverty line and for the minority who have dared to be successful and prosperous, the majority make statements like, “Well she must have sold her soul to the devil.” Or “I bet they’re miserable on the inside, probably goes home and cries all night!” Or better yet, the miss use of, “It’s easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, so all that wealth is taking them straight to hell.”

The truth of the matter is that God has designated that we live a life of abundance and thanksgiving. When we wrap our minds fully around this paradigm we become the creators of our lives. In the book of Genesis, God says,

“Let aUs make bman in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them crule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the lsky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

The significance of this verse on a personal level may not be readily apparent but a clear understanding has powerful positive ramifications on life. Understanding that we are created in the image and likeness of God is to understand our true power. I believe what we really lost in the Garden when Adam and Eve ate the fruit was an understanding of our power and true connection with God, the awareness of the God given power to create and control the world around us. We tend to view the world around us as defiantly permanent. That if it changes at all, circumstances, places or things, these change by chance but not by the power or effort of an individual. We tend to continue on this vain of thinking until we are operating with a victim’s mentality, feeling powerless to control our lives in any direction. But when we become aware, some do, that we are the creators of the world around us, particularly our specific world. When we understand that we are God in specialized form. When we look at this verse and see that we are empowered with authority over all the earth. When we meditate on this scripture long enough to come to the understanding that God did not create victims, he created a people whom have authority over all they survey. We become powerful! We loose ourselves from the role of victim and take our rightful place as rulers.

9

Direction

Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.

~ Christian D. Larson

When a person has an idea it is usually born of a desire, maybe a desire for greater financial income, better health or a relationship. When this individual begins to imagine and feel what it would be like to have their desire fulfilled the mixing of desire with emotion is essentially a prayer which when thought upon long enough produces faith. The person truly believes that they can have the desire, that it is obtainable. In the Bible the book of Hebrews states that faith is the only way to please God. Based upon a person’s faith God moves into action to provide what is desired, providing some “way” to manifest physically the object desired. God may cause the proverbial light bulb in the mind of the person to light and the individual begins to act upon the idea, effortlessly, to bring the desire into physical manifestation. This is an example of “living life in the right direction”, from the inside to the outside.

On one occasion in the New Testament Christ is asked of the Pharisees, “when the kingdom of God should come?” He first explains that the “Kingdom of God” will not be observed as a spectacle where people will say, “here it is!” or “there it is!” He then goes on to provide the most profound and esoteric of answers, “the kingdom of God is within you.” Christ here gives a succinct explanation of life. The Kingdom of God is the source of all life, ideas, wealth, health and all things created. Life begins internal of a person and is expressed externally. The “Kingdom of God” comes when a person becomes aware of this fact, aware of this “direction”.

On another occasion Christ tells His disciples that if they pray believing they have received already then they shall receive. Prayer is not answered external to a person. The person receives the answer to their prayer internally. Many times when we pray we “look” for the answer to the prayer as some external manifestation. But faith dictates that we believe we have received our answer in advance of any physical manifestation. The “Kingdom of God” is within us we receive the answer to prayer spiritually first. We should endeavor to experience “in advance” the joy and excitement of our desire before we ever physically have it. This is why in the Old Testament there were times when Israel’s armies were told to shout for victory before the battle was fought. Prayer is always answered we just have to believe it to be so.

Living life from the inside to the outside is what can be termed as the “creative process” and whether we know it or not this creative process is always happening, always turned on. It is how we create our current reality and it is how we can change our current reality. That is why we must be careful to constantly monitor our thoughts and feelings because belief in the negative produces just as belief in the positive produces. When a negative emotion is mixed with faith, meaning a person believes something terrible is going to happen, guess what, it usually does. God is not a respecter of person so a negative person can produce just as a positive person can. Also we have “Free Will” meaning, God allows us to make our own decisions and deal with the subsequent consequences. God did not create us as robots but instilled in us all the authority and creative power we need to create our own lives, the natural ability to do our own thinking, dreaming and creating. We create the reflection of the life we see around us whether we feel it is worthy of us or not.

How do we control our thoughts? By understanding that our feelings and thoughts are inseparably connected. Christ taught His disciples that a good tree does not produce bad fruit and a bad tree does not produce good fruit. You can tell the type of tree by the fruit that it bears. This parable is Christ again instructing the direction in which life is to be lived. If we apply the parable to our thoughts we easily see the correlation between thoughts and feelings. Good thoughts do not produce bad feelings and bad thoughts do not produce good feelings. You can tell what a person is thinking by the way that they are feeling. This is also our individual monitoring mechanism as to which way we are living life. For instance, God is our source of joy, happiness and triumph. When we have our thoughts fixed on Him and the fact that He loves us unconditionally we have joy. This is why the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Philippians,

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Furthermore if we understand that when pray that there is no time or space in the spiritual realm, seeing the desired prayer answered means that it is answered indeed, right now. And that its eventual physical manifestation absolutely will take place then we hold that joy which produces good feelings which produces positive manifestations. But when we are feeling bad or poorly that is usually a sure indication that our thoughts are focused on the world around us and looking to it for our solutions and answers which usually amounts to fear and anxiety.

In order to live the life we desire we must think of our desired results as completed. Spending time meditating and praying over them, writing them down and reading them back to ourselves daily. Keeping our focus and faith centered on already having them. By law the outside, at some point in time, must give way. This is living life in the proper direction.

10

Persistence

Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.

~ Napoleon Hill

One point to maintain is that of “Persistence”. You must persistently believe in the existence and creation of your desire no matter what the circumstances on the outside. Some of the things we created when we were “unconscious” of the creative process will rail against us but if we remain steadfast, faithful and persistent in our belief of having what we desire we will prevail. Soon the old tired creation will pass away even if ever so reluctantly.

In the Bible there is the story of Jairus, a man whose daughter was deathly ill. Having tried all that he knew he went to Jesus for help. Jesus agreed to help and began making His way, slowly, to Jairus’ home. There were throngs of people around Jesus at the time so His movement was inhibited. At one point during the journey a woman with a bleeding issue touched Jesus’ clothes, which healed her of her sickness. This caused a delay in Jesus’ trip to see Jairus’ daughter. The Bible doesn’t say but it’s probably a sure bet that it took all of Jairus’ strength to stay faithful and focused on his desire. Like many of us he probably started to grow impatient with the Lord, wondering when, if ever, He would arrive and correct the problem. Wondering, what if all this delay caused a missing of the opportunity to heal or help. What if during this delay the worst had happened. Worry and anxiety were steadily creeping into the area of Jairus’ spirit where faith was residing.

While we wait for the physical manifestation of our desire we must keep worry, anxiety and fear at bay. Better yet, work to make them obsolete emotions. Fixing our minds on the end result of our desire being accomplished, assuring ourselves that we believe the end result to exist which means that every step to get there must be complete as well.

While Jesus is speaking to the woman, Jairus’ servants come delivering the ill fated news that Jairus’ daughter was dead. Like many of us would feel in the same situation, Jairus’ heart probably dropped! All is lost! The dream, the idea, the project that we were so sure would succeed has failed! That new “Living Life from the Inside Out” book sucks!

But this is where “Persistence” has her perfect work. This is the time to remember the words of James when he says,

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

This is the time to apply all that we know, silence the naysayers, minus signs and haters. This is where we flex our “faith muscles.”

Jesus looks at Jairus and gives him a message that should provide encouragement for us all, one that shows the absolute power in living life in the right direction. An answer that shows the power of the hopeful and the human spirit, that encourages us to this day! He Says “Do not be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.! Just Believe!” Because God does not disappoint the faithful, because He does not forget the cause of them that believe in Him with all they have and all that they have left. To those who have no doubt! Those that remain persistent through it all until their desires and dreams are fully attained. To those who like Jacob say in a loud convicted voice, “I won’t let you go until you bless me!” Those who are conscious of the fact that not even death can stop the movement of God. Jairus’ daughter lived because he believed.

If we stay persistent in our desire even when all seems lost. Remaining steadfast and strong in our faith, our persistence will pay dividends. We must remain Persistent.

11

Core Genius

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing disturbs your peace of mind

~ Christian D. Larsen

Our lives were not meant to be fruitless, bare and poverty stricken. We are created and designed to live lives of abundance, whatever abundance means to you. Our job in this life is to figure out what we want and begin believing and working toward it. Figuring out what we want is not difficult but it does require us to get in touch with ourselves and who we truly are, laying aside all that we have been taught in order to receive the truth from within. Each of us is as unique as a snowflake, no two are the same. When we spend time, at least thirty minutes daily, figuring out what we want from this life we soon discover that we are a ton deeper than we ever thought.

We tend to choose professions in an arbitrary manner, our parents did this particular occupation or it will bring a good salary. Rarely do we meet people who are successful in life and make their living following their inspiration, their “Core Genius”. Our “Core Genius” is that ability, gift, passion that makes us unique. It is what we have been given in this life to succeed, the work we do that feels effortless and causes us to feel truly alive. Our “Core Genius” is usually that thing that we are scared to admit but if we had one wish and had the courage to be painfully honest with ourselves we would do this as our occupation.

For example an individual wants to be a professional crochet blanket maker. They know they could spend hours on end crocheting blanket after blanket, with no thought at all. But most often right after we have this revelation we shoot ourselves in the spiritual foot by following the vision with the common statement, “There’s no way I could make a living doing that!” And then we retreat back into mediocrity, unhappiness and complacency.

There are a handful of individuals in the world who have had the courage to follow their dreams and passions putting full trust in the success of their “Core Genius”. These are the millionaires, the legends, the greats of our and every time. Pursuing your “Core Genius” takes faith, faith that God is everything, everywhere and will provide, trusting in His promises that He is a provider, protector, inspirer, way maker and awarder of them who seek and trust Him. Pursuing and living by your “Core Genius” is only done living life in the right direction, understanding that “Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world.”

Pursing your “Core Genius” is the absolute way to success and happiness in this life but we have to believe that we will not only accomplish but that the way to get there will also be secured. For example, it takes tremendous faith to walk off a job you are unhappy with, not knowing if your car will be your next place of rest, in order to go back to school to become a top chef, to become a bartender or blackjack dealer but if you believe with all your heart, if you hold firm that God will not let the righteous be forsaken nor their seed beg bread, that you will be the head and not the tail, the first and not the last, that even though money is not flowing a way is being made. That you have made up in your mind that as for me and my house we will serve the Lord!

Can we stand firm enough to say that “I can be a professional crochet blanket maker and I can make the best living at it because I believe it in my heart, I see it in my mind and feel it in my soul!”

Persistent faith in your “Core Genius” through all circumstances is the only way to produce results when pursuing your passion. A good idea is to create a goal for your “Core Genius” manifestation and then read it aloud at least twice daily, morning and night. This is a perfect way to build faith and confidence in your “Core Genius” where it may not currently exist. This will intentionally train your subconscious mind in the direction you want to go. Your subconscious mind is the seat of your beliefs and only believes what your conscious mind tells it. If you can convince your subconscious that all things you desire are possible then you have already received what you desire. You must make the emotions of fear, worry and anxiety obsolete. They are nothing more than practical atheism. Phrases like, “if it be in God’s will”, or “that’s too risky”, or “I would but I have a family”, should be eliminated from your vocabulary. There is nothing to fear except what we create. Our success and prosperity is God’s highest priority. We have to trust Him with all that we are. Stop suffering and pursue your “Core Genius” with full faith, passion and courage. You will achieve your goal. We all have the ability to succeed but we do not all have the belief that we can.

12

The Spirit of the Thing

If a thing is true, there is a way in which it is true

~ Judge Thomas Troward

When I created SeriousEncouragement.com I discovered that it was going to be important for me to understand “the spirit of the thing”, meaning, and the true essence of SeriousEncouragement.com being the answer to my prayers. At that time in my life I felt completely stripped of all that I had achieved or held dear. I was divorced, church I had founded and Pastored was defunct, had to file bankruptcy, home was in foreclosure and I was suffering from depression.

Since my issues were mostly financial or at least so I thought, I began asking God for money, $1,000,000.00 would satisfy me, I thought. With that amount I would pay off the house, bankruptcy and other debt and was sure it would cure my depression. Every day I would meditate on how it would feel to have $1,000,000.00. The more I focused on my desire the more the Lord illumed my real need, my real desire. I truly began getting into “the spirit of the thing”, the “thing” being my desire. Although I asked for $1,000,000.00, when I examined my feelings deeply what I really wanted was “security”. I wanted to feel secure in my home and in my life.

After coming to this realization I made a change to my daily meditations. I began to work hard to foster a feeling of security and contentment for as long as possible. Even borrowing these feelings from previous times when I had experienced them, truly getting into the spirit of the thing. I began to “let go” of my material desire, simply using it as a launch platform to achieve a deeper understanding of my needs. I began to truly understand what was asked of Abraham when the Lord instructed him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Could he willingly give up the thing he felt would make his life the most complete and still feel secure and content. We know how close he came to sacrificing Isaac. Abraham was so committed to his faith that the Lord had to call his name three times in order to stop the sacrifice then afterward provide the ram in the bush.

In scripture symbols, pictures and types are used to help us understand deeper truths. A “dove” represents peace a “sacrifice” represents letting go and trust, fire or burning represents purging or wrath. For me the image of $1,000,000.00 was my symbol for security. It represented all I needed and I begin to understand clearly that God was my eternal supply. $1,000,000.00 was a physical representation of a spiritual truth which for me was security; know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

As we pray and receive answers to those prayers we have to begin to ask for their deeper meaning. These truths when revealed will begin to reveal hidden fears and uncover various hurts that may at some point be hindering us from moving forward. Once we begin to understand the “spirit of the thing” we begin to understand that if a thing be true there is a certain way it is true. That truth being that the material world only presents us with representations of our desires. An inventor may want to invent the greatest widget mojo producer the world has ever seen and the Lord blesses him with the ideas and the plans but as the inventor works and meditates on his invention and the impact it will have on his community and possibly the world he realizes that the widget mojo’ing producer is going to be a blessing to thousands maybe millions enriching their lives with extra mojo. This truth gives way to thanksgiving and thanksgiving in advance of the creation.

When we begin to get behind our desires we soon discover their spiritual equivalent, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened. There is no $1,000,000.00 in the spiritual realm; I created that symbol to best communicate my desire or it was given to me to help me better understand my desire. When Christ asked the woman at the well for a drink of water the conversation ended with the woman’s desire of her own thirst for better life being quenched. She wanted more and better but did not know how to communicate it. The water was used to help her understand the “spirit of the thing”. She was instructed that God would give her eternal thirst quenching water that would flow from her belly and she would never be thirsty again.

SeriousEncouragement.com is not just my “pay off my home” idea or my source for $1,000,000.00. It is my offering from my struggle to the world. His strength is shown perfect in my weakness. Like the olive oil produced from the pressing of the olive used to anoint and to heal SeriousEncouragement.com is the oil produced from my being pressed and will bless many for time to come. That is the spirit of the thing.

13

First and Second Cause

A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.

~ James Allen

On my journey to restoration the most powerful concept I have learned is that of “First and Second Cause”. I came across this terminology while reading “The Edinburgh Lectures” written by Judge Thomas Troward. In which he gives an outstanding explanation of living life in the right direction while discussing “Causes and Conditions.”

“Second Cause” refers to all things that are already created. These things can be people, systems, circumstances, money, etc. Anything which was produced by “First Cause” which is “us”, we are “First Cause”, meaning everything originates within/from us. For example, a piece of furniture does not magically appear. It is first and foremost an idea in someone’s mind. The idea is processed, plans are formulated and then physical action is taken to bring it into physical existence. From that path of origination we see that there can be no power in the piece of furniture, in “Second Cause”. The power is in “First Cause.” We have the power to create the world around us but too often we give the world around us the power to create us. We have been given dominion over this world and those who are conscious of this understand the power in “First Cause.”

If we use circumstances and conditions as an example those whom understand the power of “First Cause” understand that they have the power over their circumstances, since all secondary causes, including circumstances, are produced by thought and subject to first causation. It is then safe to conclude that situations, circumstances and conditions can change with the changing of thought within the “First Cause.” A person dealing with adverse circumstances or unfavorable conditions upon learning that they are “First Cause” can quickly assess the current environment, acknowledge that they are the cause, eliminate excuses and begin at once to exercise their God given power of “First Cause” over the environment and declare, “what is now formless and void shall yield life!”

14

Extinction of the Evil Trinity (Worry, Anxiety and Fear)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

~ Philippians 4:6

Our lives are meant to be abundant. The Bible says that Christ came “that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Often we become entangled in what is termed as “the system”, “the job”, “the family”, “the bills”, etc. Or better stated what the religious arena calls “the world.” This entanglement causes us to become completely ignorant of our birthright, abundant life. We are taught fear and preached faith. We are taught to “be careful”, taught to “watch out”, taught not “to take risks” and taught to lead a “safe life” and taught the infamous saying, “If it be in God’s will!” But faith says to trust God with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. If we were truly taught faith everyone around us would be living the abundant lives they were meant to. Instead many live in poverty, many live with disease, many live with depression, many live with the weights of life pressing down upon them to the point of suffocation. Instead of being completely aware that abundance is always “In God’s will” for our lives.

In order to live abundant life we must make the evil emotional trinity of worry, fear and anxiety obsolete emotions. Eradicate them completely from all aspects of our thoughts and feelings, recognizing that the observance of any of these three amounts to a form of practical atheism. But how is this done? How does an individual overcome all of the limitations which may have been accumulated over a life time? Fears past down from one generation to the next. Limitations so set in stone that to go against them may cause the individual ridicule, loss of friendships, and discord with family and even punishment. How? Christ said it so eloquently when speaking to Nicodemus on this very subject, “You must be born again!” By beginning to believe that we can live the life we desire, replacing these three evil amigos with faith, truth and persistence. Our lives are limitless but it is up to us to believe that. Rebirth of spirit and renewing of the mind or better put a “paradigm shift” is not an easy task but it is also not impossible.

One way to begin the extinction process of these evil three is to write out a goal that is so big it would simply blow your mind if you achieved it. Then begin convincing yourself, by referring to it daily, that you can achieve it. Think about the powerful ramifications that would result in achieving the goal. If it is to make a large sum of money begin to think about your last day on the job or the great accolades you would receive from family and friends or the vacations you would take and whom with. Dare yourself to meditate on this day and night and courageously believe you can have it.

If you are in the midst of an unfavorable situation and this evil trinity has you paralyzed begin to tell yourself over and over again that “All is well RIGHT NOW” with my thought and feeling!” Believe God for this and dare to believe that He truly loves you and when the evil trinity shows up or you feel them approaching, combat it with the Holy Trinity! It will be a daily battle but it is a battle you are destined to win. Ask yourself often how you are feeling. If the answer comes back with one of the evil three begin to remind yourself of all that the Lord has done in your life. Find a victorious moment in your life and begin to remember how you felt when victory came. Hold the feeling as long as you can. Remember that this is the same feeling you will have when the current battle is won. Begin to be thankful in advance for your victory.

Faith is only developed by repetition of thought, autosuggestion. Auto-suggestion is how to develop faith where it currently does NOT exist. In the Old Testament Israel was admonished by God to memorize the Law, write it on their door posts, read it daily. In Psalms David says that He has hidden God’s law in his heart so that he might not sin against Him. The only way to develop faith where it does not exist is to tell yourself over and over again the thing you want to believe, some positive affirmation, goal or verse, reciting so often that you can actually see it in your mind’s eye. When I was in seminary we were encouraged to read a text that was to be preached no less than 50 times. This instruction was invaluable, when I did this and time came to deliver my message I could literally see the text in my mind.

Auto-Suggestion is a term used by Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich. It is the process of intentionally training your subconscious mind, the seat of your beliefs, to believe what you want it to believe and removing or overlaying what you do not. As the positive thoughts and beliefs become the majority they act in the same manner as white blood cells when negative thoughts or emotions try to implant themselves. Treating the negative thoughts and emotions as an invading force and fighting them off, like your physical body does with an infection. When a person has thoroughly trained their subconscious mind in a certain direction there is no limit to what they can accomplish. They will seem to have super human power to achieve. They will have mastered the evil trinity of fear, anxiety and worry effectively taking full control of their lives and making another obsolete, “failure”.

15

God the Same inside and outside

For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring

~ Acts 17:28

In the “Edinburgh Lectures” written and taught by Judge Thomas Troward he provides an in-depth explanation of what may or may not be the differences between “living spirit” and “dead matter.” Troward defines spirit as life, things that are, to the human eye, living. Things that have a certain level of intelligence or able to think whether instinctively such as in the plant and animal kingdoms or on the higher order of man.

Troward defines matter as things that are to the human eye, inanimate. He explains that although inanimate objects seem to be lifeless science has proven that at their inner most level there is movement. A lump of steel sitting on a table seems lifeless unable to perform any tasks requested of it. Unable to grow like a plant, play like a dog, or create like a human being. A lump of steel has no intelligence but the question is does it contain life?

At the molecular level of the lump of steel there is movement, atoms inside the lump moving at rates too fast for the human eye to witness. Within the atoms there is energy which is the true source of the movement, this energy results in a certain level of responsiveness in the lump of steel that when needed can be used to produce something from within the spiritual world of ideas, visions and dreams. Creating possibly a sculpture, weapon or building, whatever the mind of man can conceive, illustrating that there is a common thread that connects the spiritual and physical worlds, something that produces the idea but also produces the physical plans to reproduce the physical representation of the idea along with the raw materials. Letting us know that there is but one source of both the spiritual and the physical, God. God exists the same in the Spiritual as He does in the physical, He is immutable, never changing and the source of all that there is. As stated by the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill, “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Or as the Psalmist stated of Him, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” Spirit and Matter both have the same source, God and are both distributed through the same medium, humanity. God will always use human personality to produce the world viewed around us.

When we talk of “The Law of Attraction” or in theology, “The “Providence of God” we are speaking of the movement of God to bring all things together. God created the world with all of the raw materials needed to fulfill all of mans desires. He then created man, in His image, with the ability to tap into the spirit world and grab hold of the infinite intelligence of God in order to come up with ways to manipulate the raw materials God supplied.

A beautiful example of this is the creation of the tabernacle and the tabernacle artifacts in the Old Testament. God gave Moses and the craftsmen of Israel specific instructions as to how the tabernacle and the corresponding artifacts should be created. The Lord then heightened their abilities so that they could create these artifacts with the utmost precision and perfection.

Another example, the Magi arriving in Bethlehem two years after Christ was born. The New Testament indicates that these men were from the East. Meaning they were from a non Jewish part of the world. So how would they have known that Christ would be born and where?

Thousands of years before Christ was born or the Magi set off on their journey, Israel was taken into captivity by enemy nations. These particular nations were used as tools of God because He endowed them with a certain way of conquest. Their conquest method did not involve destroying their enemies but assimilating them. Rather than wiping out a conquered nation the conquerors brought the nations into their own land and then, in a reciprocal action, transplanted their own people into the conquered cities. The conquered were used as slaves and servants and taught the local customs.

The beauty of this method was that the conquered were allowed to keep certain of their customs. We see an example of this in the story of Daniel and the “Hebrew Boys” who because they were well educated, from affluent Hebrew families and well versed in scripture were used as teachers and dream translators. Subsequently they taught their conquerors their ways and religion converting many to Judaism, including the ruler of the nation himself. Then when enough time had passed the Lord sent Israel back to their lands but they left behind their ideals, ways, customs, beliefs and the Torah. Synagogues were established in these foreign lands and the Torah was studied. These eastern Jews and scholars produced prophets whom preached and wrote that unto us a Child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall rest on his shoulders and they shall call His name Emanuel meaning God with us. Down through the ages these lessons were taught and learned until finally at the right time at the right moment a particular group of Magi knew that the time was now to follow the star to the savior.

If you come to the understanding that we are literally floating in God along with all creation, that there is no “in here” or “out there” there is just God and that we connect with Him via our thoughts and feelings. That He has placed a level of responsiveness in everything we see around us such that when our thoughts and feelings line up with Him, He causes the plans and conditions around us including the raw materials and resources to move in direct correspondence to our desires. Meaning, that if you desire to change your current condition to a more favorable one the entire Universe has been set up in such a way as to allow that to happen and all you have to do is believe that your new condition is already in existence and right now feel the joy of it because neither God nor His design nor His creation will fail.

16

Conclusion

The riches they receive will be in exact proportion to the definiteness of their vision, the fixity of their purpose, the steadiness of their faith, and the depth of their gratitude.

~ Wallace D. Wattles

I hope these few pages have provided you with what I have intended to provide, Serious Encouragement. I know in my heart that SeriousEncouragement.com was inspired by God for those going through at tough time and trying to find their way out. Just like the Secret was provided for me as a pointer giving direction back to life.

You are a unique expression of the God whom inspired this gift to all. He is guiding and directing us on our paths. Hearing our every prayer and providing us with the answer and fulfillment to each. I cannot give you a timeframe as to when your deliverance will come in the physical but I can tell you that as soon as you believe you have it in the spiritual it is done! It will manifest on the exterior in due time.

Stay strong, don’t look down, stay focused and believe, believe, believe that everything is going to be okay. That everything works out for you, that all is well because you are connected with all the Life that there is.

Until next time, be blessed.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

1

Foreclosure, To believe or not to believe

2

SeriouEncouragement.com

3

The Universal Vision!

4

Don’t Look Down

5

Stay Strong

6

What to do with It?

7

They Call Mae Zilla!

8

God and Me

9

Direction

10

Persistence

11

Core Genius

12

The Spirit of the Thing

13

First and Second Cause

14

Extinction of the Evil Trinity

15

God the Same Inside and Outside

16

Conclusion