The Price Is Right!

Dear Chocolate Chips, Imagine that you and I are sitting in a studio audience that has an electrifying charge in the air and the next thing that you hear are the words: “Whoop Dedoo, come on down! You’re the next contestant on the price is right! So now Whoop is standing in the line-up to place a bid on a singin’ coffee pot that can download all of the Maxwell House coffee commercial jingles since 1920. Ms. Dedoo wins the bid, and eventually gets to spin the wheel and move on to the show case show down. She places a bid on the showcase “Boo Hoo Nothing To Do” where she could win a world-wide cruise on her very own luxury liner, a 1 million dollar shopping spree to Beverly Hills with her very own stylist and 5 of her closest friends, a top of the line entertainment fun studio that is equipped with an air hockey table, ping pong table, a blue ray dvd collection of 10,000 movies, an old fashioned popcorn maker, and a robot who serves all the possible gaming foods she’d ever want. “And the actual retail price of your showcase is…nothing! For one time only our sponsors have paid for each of the showcases and you both get the prize!!!” WHAT??!! That never happens! In all of my years of watching The Price Is Right, I have never heard Bob Barker say that both of the contestants have won. I do however remember hearing him say “remember to have your pets spayed or neutered”. On a more personal note, many of you know from past pieces of chocolate that my mom was a single mom until I was 10. At that time, my mom’s new husband was the first father figure that I had ever had. Then on February 3rd,1984, something extremely significant happened to me. My mom’s husband made the conscious decision to adopt me. See I retained my mother’s last name all that time. So on that day my legal last name changed and my mom’s husband became my dad. Holy smokes! There were so many benefits of having him as my dad! Too many to tell. I don’t know if ya’ll know this but it costs a great deal of $$ to adopt a child. My dad paid the cost to retain me permanently as his daughter. To this very day I am reaping the many benefits of his decision from so many years ago. Ladies, Jesus Christ, if He is Lord of your life, has paid your price in full to retain you as his daughters. He has redeemed you. Do you know what that means? That means that He has redeemed you from living a life as a child who’s not spoken for. His authority as your Father through the sacrifice of his own blood has redeemed you from believing lies from the enemy that may be telling you that you are ugly, stupid, useless, pathetic, a liability, defeated, and worthless. He has redeemed you from thoughts of suicide and fear. Yes it is He who paid the price! He has redeemed you from living in the dark. He has redeemed you from going to Hell. He has redeemed you from a hopeless future, He has redeemed you from the worst parts of yourself and is dedicated to making you a new creation! Praise the Great Redeemer! He has redeemed you from the spirit of apathy and control. He has redeemed you from sickness and an empty wallet. He has redeemed you from all kinds of wrong thinking and wrong speaking. Here’s a verse to meditate on, Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Also, Galatians 3:13 But Christ has redeemed us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing… All you have to do is remember who you belong to, submit to Him as The Authority in your life, and allow Him to renew your mind by spending time with Him in daily prayer and also by reading your Bible. See girls, as a parent I understand that who I am will be a huge influence on my son. Likewise, who Jesus is can be an influence upon us but only if His influence is welcomed. Without Jesus I’m a royal mess. With Jesus I am a daughter of the Most High, a soldier in the army of the Lord, an over comer, and with Him I am a HUGE success story in the works. Be blessed this week and allow the Lord to redeem you in every way. Love you all, Dede