holy spirit

We Are Not Alone☦️🕊✳️

Sometimes we fear the worst. Sometimes we wait for things to go wrong. Sometimes we’re afraid to expect anything good because we’re used to being disappointed. But if we look back at the times we were alone, disappointed, afraid, or stressed—we will realize we were never really alone at all. God is not just some white-bearded old guy sitting up in the sky. He dwells within. In John 14:26 we are told: ‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name [Jesus], he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.’ How many times has the spirit helped you, taught you, or even saved you from something traumatic?’ We are never alone.🕊🕊🕊

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Recently she was featured on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World. Zina’s written hundreds of articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world spanning many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog and Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She is also a major foodie and loves to help others. You can connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, Linked In, or Twitter.

‘Give it to God’

I’m not sure if you can see the tiny caption in this lovely picture but it says ‘Give it to God.’ I would like to talk a little about ‘Give it to God’ this morning. Giving it to God is a lovely message and should be followed in so many ways; however, oftentimes people think that giving it to God means to let it go. Well, not entirely. Even when we give something to God it still requires some action. Often I feel like people say ‘give it to God’ as a way to assume no responsibility. The Holy Spirit works within us, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God,” the Bible tells us. Therefore God gives us direct steps and instruction. My prayer is always for him to lead and guide. I know I am on the right path when he is leading me. This world can cause all kinds of confusion. We live in a culture that is focused on self; therefore, it may be hard to discern what God is saying versus other voices out there. Typically if something is not pleasurable to us or gratifying we do away with it. We ‘Give it to God.’ Think of the volunteers who wake up before dawn to go to the soup kitchen or the ones who do random acts of kindness or care for the elderly. These are people who gave it to God, but let God work through them for humankind. In a culture that tends to be individualistic in nature, the Bible tells us to ‘die to self.’ And that those who hold into their lives shall lose it, but those who ‘lose’ their lives [for His sake] will find it.✨🙏☦️

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book “Not Without God: A Story of Survival.” Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and more than 300 of her own blog articles. As an educator for more than twenty years, she’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. Her upcoming book, “Not Without God: Hope In the Storm” will be out next year. Her writing endeavors have also earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity, and she strives to do what she longs to–help others. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers magazine, and the Suite T blog, among other places. Socializing with friends, taking business trips, listening to music, and meeting new people are among her hobbies. She was recently featured on Color Speak (a Grace and Truth Radio World! podcast) and on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, or Twitter.

God Is a Problem-Solver💞

One thing I love about God is he is just a call away. All you have to do is say his name. He’ll come running to you. It’s instantaneous. You don’t have to wait. You don’t have to wonder if he’s there. The Lord has left us an ‘advocate.’ The Holy Spirit to help us and be with us forever. That means you are never alone. That means you have divine power. This power will lift you up, help you make decisions, and overcome. One thing we don’t realize enough is that God is a personal one. He’s a helper and a friend. He’s a problem solver. He is unconventional! He is not old fashioned. He is not just some old guy with a beard sitting up in the sky. If you ask for him to lead and guide, he will. There will be no doubt or shadow of turning.

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the best selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Recently she was featured on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast. Zina’s written hundreds of articles and has taught students from all over the world spanning many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog and Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. Her goal is to help others. You can connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, Linked In, or Twitter.

You are not ‘waiting’

Waiting on God is not easy, especially when you don’t know what he’s doing in your life. I don’t entirely agree with this quote, though, and I’ll tell you why—we are not ‘waiting,’ we can work with him if we want to. People tend to look at God as some big bad antagonist whose will is opposed to ours. But it’s not true. God (the Holy Spirit) is with us. Often he’s leading us to our dreams. We don’t know it. We may be too anxious about why they haven’t happened or not doing anything to make our situation better, we can be coworkers with God, but we have to do our part. Nothing will just come to you! You have to take action. Whether you want to buy a new house or open a business, you have to work at it. I wish people would stop looking to God as an obstacle. It’s because of him you are where you are. You didn’t do it by yourself. Everything happens by him and for him, according to the Bible. Start realizing how much you are connected; you and God are by no means worlds apart!

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the best-selling book, “Not Without God: A Story of Survival.” Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and over 250 of her own blog articles. As an educator for more than twenty years, she’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. Her upcoming book, “Not Without God: Hope In the Storm” will be out later this year. Her writing endeavors earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity, and she strives to do what she longs to–help other people. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers magazine, and Suite T blog among other places. Socializing with friends, taking business trips, listening to music, and meeting new people are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, or Twitter.

Free Will and Destiny🔮✨

Since we have free will, some may think they can choose their destiny. But I believe fate and free will have to work in harmony. Determinism is a theory that says God determines everything and it’s pre-written. According to physics, though, we are ‘particles’ with endless possibilities. Although the Laws of the Universe wholly govern us, in an eternal universe, anything is possible.

What’s meant to be is a part of our destiny. Some people don’t believe in fate because we have choices. Our choices can determine our future, but our choices do not always determine the result. Meaning we don’t always get what we choose. God is in control, ultimately. He wants to see our dreams happen.

But he is our designer and the maker of everything! Life is complicated. There are twists and turns, and the path is not straight. We can decide, but things may not go the way we had planned or our way.

My advice to my friends when caught in predicaments is to pray. Stay in Faith. When you pray through anything, you’ll have knowledge, wisdom, and strength. When I say pray, I don’t necessarily mean bringing your desperate pleas to the Lord. He already knows what’s in our hearts. The Holy Spirit searches our hearts and conveys our messages to God.

Prayer means spending time with him, conversing, meditating on his word, and sharing your thoughts. Of course, you can make requests. But trust in God. He will give you your answers. You don’t have to spend hours praying, either. Prayer can be straightforward and just sharing requests and thoughts.

God will help you through anything if you put him first. He has to be the one you go to, the one you depend upon most. Ask him to help you discern and lead you to the right decisions.

The people in the Bible didn’t question whether or not they heard from the Lord. They knew when he was speaking. It wasn’t a question of whether or not they can hear from him. They followed his wise instruction. Sometimes angels even appeared and performed miracles, like when Paul, the Apostle, was freed from prison in the Book of Acts. It was an angel who appeared and opened the gates.

Because Paul had great faith, without faith, that miracle could’ve never happened. He will lead you to the right people, situations, and assistance if you ask. God has told me to wait on change and that the hardship I’m enduring has not gone in vain. He will tell you what to do if you listen and be patient.

Talk with him. It is how you can best hear. I mean by sharing your thoughts. You don’t have to talk out loud. You can speak to him in your heart. Give him your concerns, ask questions, and don’t forget to thank him. He’s always there. Your questions will get answered. Sooner or later.

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored “Not Without God: A Story of Survival.” Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and over 200 of her blog posts. As an educator for more than twenty years, she’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. Her writing endeavors earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity, and she strives to do what she longs to–help other people. Socializing with friends, taking business trips, listening to music, and meeting people are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, or Twitter.

On Love & Relationships! ♥️♥️♥️

God is perfecting a work in you, and he is no way finished. The life of someone who follows Jesus is not an easy one, because he is continually molding and shaping us.

There will be hardships, at times you will face rejection and even feel all alone. Nonetheless, God will never leave you. He is the only One that will bring you through.

He doesn’t love you any less when you fail—he knows you will mess up! But the whole point is that you want to make it right with him.

I tend to retreat when I am angry because I can cool off and collect my thoughts. Retreating is not always the best option. Some situations are difficult and chronic no matter what.

Don’t get under the impression that you can live alone and that you do not need anyone, some people run, but this is only a temporary solution—we need each other.

You can release stress by talking about it. Make sure you are talking to a trusted friend. Someone you know really well.

Turning to your journal is a great reliever. It can help you figure things out. This is my number one way of dealing with issues. It’s effective because you can let it all out.

This way you are able to notice any unhealthy patterns in your thinking, or you can think of strategies on how to resolve the problem.

Of course praying is powerful. I see prayer as a way of talking in your journal out loud. When you pray you are talking to the Holy Spirit. He hears you even before you convey the message. God knows the thoughts of our hearts.

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He knows our fears, insecurities, and doubts. He knows when we are being fair and when we are not being treated well.

That is why prayer, or talking about it to Him is effective. It’s another way of sorting out your thoughts.

The fruits of the spirit are “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).” I hope to possess all of these more.

Life is a dance between you and God. All else is an illusion; it’s a manifestation of His love. So how you treat others is significant because you are truly having relations with the Lord. The Holy Spirit lives inside of us.

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and 200+ of her very own blog posts. As a long-time educator, she’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Bosch, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and she’s worked with students of all ages. She began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. Her writing endeavors have earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity. Socializing with friends, taking trips, listening to music, and networking are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.