Category Archives: Southern

Psalms 32:1-2 Have JOY today!

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Ps 32:1-2

“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” Psalms‬ ‭32:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is great joy in having our transgressions/disobedience forgiven – our sin is put out of sight or covered. They are not only covered but removed! Ps 103: 12 says “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” We are blessed indeed!


Ps 32:2 continues that the blessing and joy is not only because we have been forgiven, but the Lord also removes the guilt and shame associated with our sin/ transgression AND we can live our lives in complete honesty and transparency- free of deceit! Our records are wiped clean. That sounds a lot like freedom to me!

I am reminded of when you have been given an expensive parking or camera ticket and you are driving around fearful or dreading another one. But when that ticket has been paid or has been thrown out, you are not only elated that it is gone, you move about with greater freedom because it’s no longer hanging over your head.

Lord, I thank You for the joy You bring in forgiving my transgressions and covering and delivering me from sin! Thank You also for the joy and blessing of wiping our records free from the guilt of sin and allowing us to live without deceit, in complete honesty! We declare victory over every intrusive thought that tries to make us relive the guilt and shame associated with the transgression. We are forgiven, Hallelujah! Help us walk boldly and freely in victory in Jesus name.

Fervent Love 

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“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” I Peter 4:8 

Fervent Love 

Last year on Valentine’s Day, I read this scripture and was captivated with the phrase “fervent charity” or fervent love! The scripture exhorts us to, “Above all things” over everything, HAVE fervent love, that is, display passionate intensity of love, among ourselves! FOR that love SHALL – not maybe or perhaps- cover or overlook a multitude of sin. 

When you are busy displaying love to your family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, neighbors, you don’t sweat the small stuff. By this shall all men know we are His disciples, the LOVE we have for one another. We love God and others because He FIRST loved us! His love never ever fails. 

That is why Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:17-19 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which surpasseth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” We can forgive easily when we have the Love of God flowing in our hearts. It covers, indeed, overcomes, flushes out any ill-will, discontent, anger, regret and SIN in our hearts. 

Let’s us remember with deep gratitude, the “greater love” Christ displayed for us and let us be that conduit of grace and fervent Love  to one another!  Happy Valentine’s Day! 

Nee and New

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For some reason every time I would try to type “new”, “nee” would come up and not auto correct to new. This was happening since late yesterday, as I was wishing everyone a Happy New Year. So after about the 20th time I got fed up changing it and something said look up the word “Nee”. This word I’ve seen many times!  it is actually used as a French term née often used to denote a former or original (maiden) name. So I would be Sharon Zimmerman, née Bryant.  The former me.

I immediately heard the Spirit of the Lord say there are things trying to pull you back to your former ways, your former self.  You have been born again! 2 Cor 5:17 states, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Isaiah 42: 9 says“Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

God is saying something new! Have ears to hear/ He is telling us before the come to pass. 

Isaiah 43: 18-19 “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

Don’t dwell on the past because God is doing a new thing! Don’t you sense it?! It is new territory no matter where  you are standing. Even  in hopeless places, He is carving a path and bringing life in dry barren places. 

The old is passed away! We do not have to reject the past, because God has done great things! The past is a part of me (us)  but it’s over- A new chapter has begun. 

 But I/we must act- take the first step! I must willfully make the corrections, because (like my phone keyboard) auto correct does not apply here. As we mature, God gives us (demands that we activate) our gift of choice! Choose life! Choose ye this day whom you will serve! Lay aside every weight AND the sin that besets us. (Heb 12:1) Forget! 

In Phil 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:13-15‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Paul says to forget those things that are behind and reach for those things before. 

God will not take it away, I (we) have to choose to lay aside, forget, leave the former things and reach for the new things before, the PRIZE of high calling. This is the mindset we should have and Phil 3:15 says that if we are “otherwise minded” or have a competing mindset,  God will reveal it to us. God is so faithful! 

Like a good trainer, God reminds us the things we have to stop doing and the things we must start doing. 

Keep declaring and reaching for the New things! Keep making those corrections to forget, let go and lay aside those former, old past habits, situations, relationships etc that hinder us from reaching that high mark in 2016. As we seek God and acknowledge Him in all our ways He will direct our path – and will reveal anything in us that competes with His plan in our lives or may slow us down. 

Happy NEW Year – the Year of Our Lord 2016! 

Remembering my mother

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It is with a very full heart that I remember my dear mother on the 10th anniversary of her passing. She was that fairy dust that lingered eternally everywhere she went leaving it better, more interesting and happier! She could take anything and make it fun and so so beautiful! She smiled and laughed ALOT! She loved all my friends who became her extended daughters and sons. She fiercely loved her children and knew and celebrated the uniqueness of eachShe could pick the perfect Christmas gift for my husband James Zimmerman. lol! 

She never panicked. She was the original steel magnolia, solution oriented, elegant, fire and ice. She was a champion for the disenfranchised, advocate for the voiceless, a civil Rights leader honored by the State NAACP. She never turned anyone away. 

As fabulous as she was, she did not spend large amounts of time on herself apart from her weekly appointments with Wyona Battle, because her hair was her crown of glory. She was the hardest working board member, and many times at events she was setting up, decorating and making it all look effortless as she wielded her wand! She was an avid crossword enthusiast, read fluffy books and magazines, Legacy Howard U grad, Ivy League grad school, and high school valedictorian. 

 She was a woman of great FAITH, Intercessor and rose early to pray and read the Bible every morning! We found many journals of her prayers that she wrote down for all of us calling us by name to petition Jesus Christ on our behalf. Estelle Elayne Butler Bryant was born on 3/3/33 and I really still can’t believe that she is no longer with us because she is still so vibrant in my heart and mind! I love you and miss you my darling dearest Mother !

Why Do I Watch Plants Die

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This is a recurring thought of mine that brings a tinge of guilt and sadness- and a stirring. I can be so conscientious sometimes about plant care- once keeping a poinsettia plant alive for a year at my office. But it was at the office and not at home.

And I have watched several of my plants die at home. It’s like I have so many things competing for my attention when I get home. I’m not deliberately not watering them, but regardless of my intention the plant dies because they are not watered. I will sit on my sofa and say, I need to water my plants and then plan to do it LATER. When later comes, I’m no longer thinking about watering the plants.

But I love plants! I adore flowers and living green things inside of my home! And I know how to keep them alive. But now having watched my plants die, I very rarely buy house plants. That is sad. We have a nice garden outside and nature plus my husband’s attention keep it beautiful. But it’s not the same as having  a living plant inside the house.

Then the phrase “planted by the waters” came to me.
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭7-8‬ KJV)”

Plants in the ground have multiple water sources other than our remembering to water them. When you take them out of the ground they are dependent only on external water sources. And all living things need consistent water to keep on living.

So hope awakens with this thought, and I believe I’m finally going get a little plant. And it shall live and not die! Not this time. I will make sure that it stays watered and say a little prayer with each watering. That way we can grow and thrive together!