Sometimes you just have to sit back and bask in His Glory. Sometimes you have to drop what you’re doing and acknowledge His presence and let Him move in, with and through your mind, body and spirit. Sometimes you have to let go and just let God use you.

I just felt a tugging in my spirit today to blog. Actually this morning after I turned on my Praise & Worship on my Pandora station on the manifestation pulled me out from under my covers and I simply had to use my body to praise Him. I danced hard this morning and almost sweated out my hair lol. It’s His love and His presence that consumes me! It’s a connection, a relationship like no other that I never want to part from. As I began to write a song came in my spirit and that’s what you will read below. For now you can read it. I was contemplating while I was dancing this morning about a few of the great gifts that I have been blessed with such as dancing and if it’s imperative to use your gifts before men or is it enough to simply bless the Lord with alone… And such as writing this song and me singing it by myself to bless Him even if no one else ever hears it… Just something to think about. I want to multiply the gifts He gave me and don’t ever want to leave them buried for them to then be stripped from me. Food for thought I think.

I can feel presence round me

I can feel your warm embrace

And I know your love surrounds me

I just live to seek your face

Lord I thank you for giving me Grace!

Lord I thank you for giving me Grace!

I can feel presence round me

I can feel your warm embrace

And I know your love surrounds me

I just live to seek your face

Lord I thank you for giving me Grace!

Lord I thank you for giving me Grace!

I pray that my words encourage and inspire you today. Continue to walk and allow Him to carry you when you need it. Love on Him today! It is Wednesday and that means even if you can’t make it you can join us at Church on the Rock Live Streaming at 7pm CST at www.cotrexperience.org!

I love you fam!

Today bless someone that least expects it from you! You are blessed to be a blessing today!

From the bubbles,

Jana M. Gamble

*Don’t forget you don’t want to miss Aminah Williams and I on our show Living Sweet every Tuesday 3p-4p CST on www.iwatchradio.com!! You can also watch some great videos on our YouTube Channel LivingSweetONiWatch!!*

This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! My spirit is filled with joy today. I am so excited and so blessed to be able to share the camera with one of my best friends Aminah Williams as we debut our show today Living Sweet on iwatchradio.com! Each show will be fabulously filled with Giving Back, Special Guests, Music, Poetry, Food, and always tons of fun! Our show will stream live from our official Facebook page, from the iwatchradio.com Facebook page AND from www.iwatchradio.com every Tuesday from 3p-4p CST! You can also watch the archives if you miss it.

We have been on an amazing journey over these last 8 weeks together in Giving Back to our Community and we are delighted to share both our story and this movement with the world! God is good! We pray that this show will inspire you and bless you every time that you tune in. We encourage you to send us your videos of spoken word performances and you and your family/business Giving Back and it just might end up on our show!!

Be encouraged today because you already have the victory!

Tastefully Giving Back to our Community,

Jana M. Gamble

Hi fam,

I am sharing this journey with you not for any form of recognition or applause, but to bring awareness to the needs both to educate ourselves about our health and to encourage others to consider organ donation. To all my family and friends that were praying for us during our journey- thank you!

Any person that knows me well knows that I am a giver by nature. Heck, I even wrote a book about giving called 107 Ways to Give When You Think You Have Nothing to Give. About one year ago I was with one of my best friends, Aminah Williams, who I had known for about 4 years. Aminah and I have been there for each other through life’s ups and downs always standing along the other’s side being supportive through any possible way we can. I love Aminah with all my heart and would and will do anything for her and her children.

So on this particular day that we were together we ran into her father Al Atkins. Prior to this occasion I had only been around Al a couple of times. He proceeded to tell us that his kidneys were bad and that he was in hopes of being placed on the donor list soon and that if he became eligible for a transplant that he wanted us to consider being tested as well. Aminah and I both said of course we would! So as the months past it was almost a joke that every time I saw Al or was with Aminah when he called that he’d remind me, “don’t forget, I may need you to get tested to be my donor.” I always assured him that I would do whatever it takes to help if at all possible.

In 2011 I have really gone through some interesting and pretty difficult seasons. At the beginning of August Al invited me to lunch to talk about the possibility of being a kidney donor for him. We sat down at Olive Garden and went through the packet of information from the Nashville VA Medical Center that he provided me. I went home that day and left a message for Mrs. Johnson in Nashville to get the process moving. As the story continues at this point both of my children had been away from me almost the entire summer which was very difficult on us and had just returned home, my long distance relationship was washing down the drain, and then to top it off I had to part ways with my job on August 19th. Life is funny though, as I was transitioning from my previous employer and moving out on my own I thought “God works in mysterious ways- what a perfect time for me it would be if I am able to be a donor for Al!”

After playing phone tag for two weeks Mrs. Johnson called me back. It was approximately 12:30 p.m. when we had a brief phone interview then she asked what my blood type was and I told her O+. Next she answered all of my questions then asked for me to fax verification of my blood type which was my blood donor card. I had been cleaning a few days prior and came across my donor card so I purposely placed it somewhere where I could find it. Um, yeah so when I went to locate it, it was no where to be found. I got a bit discouraged for a moment but then I prayed that the Holy Spirit would lead me to it. Meanwhile I was distracted by my other best friend Sheri Williams who called and invited me to IHOP.

After I backed into my parking spot, as I turned my head straight my eyes were drawn to my ashtray. I was so excited that I almost forgot to put the car in park. Laying right there in the ashtray backside up was my Red Cross Donor Card. I jumped out of the car with excitement and had a great brunch with Sheri. Following our lunch we headed over to Office Depot to fax my card to the VA. On the sheet I sent over I asked for them to confirm that it was received by phone. A few minutes later my phone rang and Ms. Rita, my new representative, informed me that the fax arrived.

With a full stomach and wondering mind I headed home to go get back to some business. Shortly after 2:30 p.m. I received another call from the VA. This call was a surprising one. The lady on the phone asked how quickly I would be able to travel to Nashville, Tennessee for further testing! I was taken back from the speedy process. She suggested September 11th, 2011 and I agreed.

To be continued…

Watch us on Fox 2 News with Tim Ezell talking about 10 Weeks of Giving in the St. Louis Community!

Live a Lifestyle of a Giver!

From the bubbles,

Jana M. Gamble

Last night I was blessed to be a part of our Midwest Professional Women’s Group Meeting, a program of Dress for Success Midwest. There are a group of about 16 women that are called the Leading Ladies and we have the privilege of the wonderful Karen Hoffman facilitating us through “The 2011 Joy of Goals.” Almost everyone in the group is progressing either personally and professionally with so many great things to share. It is so exciting to hear the success stories of each of them not only because it inspires you that you can do the same, but also because we have a very strong sisterhood that binds us together.

Every single person has 24 hours in their day. All of us have opportunities both positive and… not so positive that come before us every day. Each of us have to make decisions on a day to day basis that determine what we do and the direction we will be heading. Even though I personally had many praise reports to share I know that I have so much more that I need to accomplish. Yes, I’m very ambitious. Yes, I have many gifts and talents, but I also know if I don’t use them than not only can I loose them but they can be taken away! Right in the Good Book in Matthew 25 we can learn what God intends for us to do with our talents.

Here are some questions I am asking of myself and believe that you should ask to yourself. We need to not only encourage others to grow but you have to be your biggest fan! If you don’t buy into what you are selling or promoting and believe it to be the best then why would you expect anyone else to do so? !

• Do you have a vision board?
• When did you make your vision board?
• How often do you look at your vision board?
• Have you accomplished any of the goals that you see on your board?
• Are your visions specific?
• Are you creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals for yourself? (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely)
• Do you have your goals written down or just floating around in your head?
• How often are you looking at your list of goals and evaluating them?

1. Who is standing in your way from being on the other end of that dream celebrating all of the success?
2. What is stopping you from accomplishing your goals, those dreams you have dwelling deep inside of you?
3. When are you going to start taking responsibility for your actions or lack there of?
4. Where do you see yourself a year from now?
5. How are you going to start living out the God given purpose implanted in your spirit?

Our day began with Aminah Williams, LySyin Lobster and myself boxing up delicious treats from Aminah’s Treats & More. We had excellent teamwork in preparing 11 boxes of sweets and one individual set of goodies. LySyin came along for our tour of the city to be our personal videographer documenting our experiences throughout the day which was really neat. Our first stop was at Church on the Rock (COTR) in St. Peters, MO where we were greeted at the door with a beautiful smile and warm hugs from Carla. My 6 year old daughter, Aminah and I all presented our Give Back Fridays package to the COTR staff who were extremely excited and blessed from our generosity. Next we made a special visit to Mrs. Edwards’ home and blessed her with some sweetness. She told us how much she appreciated the treats and gave us all a big hug.

Then to the highway we went. We had strategically planned out our stops but were using the gps on Aminah’s phone to direct us. The gps had a woman’s voice and we named her Brenda. Brenda did a great job in general but certainly didn’t make our 3rd stop at Fox 2 News very easy on us. I don’t know how many times we went the wrong way and had to reroute, but no matter what we knew we had a mission that together we were determined to complete! It was so exciting for us to be at Fox 2 for us since we enjoy watching them so much. A gentleman asked us who we were there to see and I proceeded to tell him that we would love to meet Tim Ezell or April Simpson if they were still around. He told us that he thought Tim was gone already but that he believed April to still be in. We stood in the lobby chatting about the shows that were on the t.v. and the possibilities that we see before us with our businesses. Then who walked around the corner- none other than the absolutely hilarious Tim Ezell! We were super stoked to meet him and he seemed very interested in what we are doing with the 10 Weeks of Giving Back to the St. Louis Community.

As we walked back to our vehicle Aminah and I talked about all the “what if’s” and how this is only the beginning for us. We hopped in the truck and started making our way to JoyFM our 4th stop. On the way there my phone rang and it was Tim from Fox 2! Tim invited us to be on Monday’s show (11.14.11) at 9 a.m. We were so ecstatic that I almost missed our turn for the JoyFM Studio. As soon as we opened the door at JoyFM we were greeted with a huge smile and excitement from the receptionist who had seen a post on the 99.1 JoyFM Facebook page that we would be stopping in to bless them. She so kindly gave us a tour of their wonderful facility introducing us to several people along the way. We entered the studio while the DJ’s were on the line with a caller for the Faith and Family contest. They told us if the caller got the right answer then they wanted us to cheer for them. One minute later we were cheering for the winner live on the radio. The DJ’s were so gracious to pose for a few pictures with us before we left.

What a blessing it was to have every single stop we made open their doors for us with open arms! Next we headed to the famous spot in Mangrove called Sweetie Pie’s. It smelled delicious in there and by the length of the line we could tell that it must be since the place was packed. Tim Norman one of the owners came over to us and we told him all about our Give Back Fridays giving him their gifts. Soon after he pulled us out of line so that we could meet his mother and owner of Sweetie Pie’s Robbie Montgomery which was a very nice treat. They even gave back to us by blessing us with our meals. We stayed to eat enjoying every single bite especially the macaroni and cheese!

Our final stop for the day was to the St. Louis VA Medical Center. Being that it was Veteran’s Day the VA was pretty empty except for 2 floors of inpatients. We decided to go to all the rooms and speak to the Veteran’s giving them a special thank you and a sweet treat. It was a great experience especially for my children to find out what area of the military the Veteran’s served as well as the wars they fought to protect us. The oldest Vet we met was 91 years old and still mobile! It was a really great visit.

Overall we had an absolutely amazing day showing the city with blessings. Aminah and I look forward to continuing our mission not only through the end of the 10 Weeks of Giving on December 23rd, but also to make Give Back Fridays a once a month event. We’re thankful for Dwayne Bess who included his literature in our package and encourage other businesses to join us in Giving Back to our city!

I hope you enjoyed reading about our journey and follow us along the way! Be blessed to be a blessing. Be encourage to live a Lifestyle of a Giver!

From the bubbles,

Jana M. Gamble

What a beautiful morning. This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Today we have the privilege to be hitting the streets of St. Louis with a vehicle full of gratitude, love,  hope for our nation, autographed books and journals from local authors Jana M. Gamble and Dwayne Bess, and a whole lot of sweetness from Aminah’s Treats & More! Our deliveries will even be available for you to watch thanks to LySyin Lobster for giving back by joining us in our mission today in week 4 of our 10 Weeks of Giving Back to the St. Louis Community.

Our travels will take us a beautiful woman of God recovering from a open heart surgery, our church home Church on the Rock, JoyFM, Fox 2 News, Sweetie Pie’s, and a special stop by the St. Louis VA to honor our Veterans. We are absolutely thrilled about bringing hope and joy to our city through these Give Back Fridays! I am thankful that not only will Aminah, LySyin and I be hitting the streets but my children will also be a part of this amazing experience! Our prayer is that others will join us and live a Lifestyle as a Giver!

Be encouraged today and know that no act of kindness is to small. You can be a blessing to others in the simplest ways. Make sure you thank a Veteran today.  Have a wonderfully blessed day fam!

Mali Music

From the bubbles,

Jana M. Gamble

There is a sweet presence so thick this morning that I don’t want you to miss. The Spirit of the Lord is like no other! Let Him wrap you in His love and carry away every weight that may be holding you down today. Dance for a breakthrough. Praise Him with your whole self. Worship Him for who He is seeking His face and allowing everything else to fall in place.

This song helped set the atmosphere this morning:

During my praise I began feeling overwhelmed with His goodness. Listening to the words of this song “Angels Cry”, these questions came to me – Who are you not recognizing that is crying out to you? Crying out to be saved, crying out to be loved, crying out for affection, crying out for direction, crying out in fear, crying out in pain, crying out in anger, crying out needing God to pour out on them today? Hear their cries today. Open up your spirit and be sensitive to the words, emotions, body language, reactions, and the space of others around you. Who can you minister to through your work, your words, gifts, talents and abilities through just a simple gesture? Give your ear, your time and maybe even a hug to someone that crosses your path. Be still for just a moment to feel what they feel. Be present. Be a blessing without seeking a reward or acknowledgement.

Today hear their cry. Give something as simple as a smile today!

Be blessed! Be encouraged!

From the bubbles,

Jana M. Gamble

3 But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.

4 Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds ; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.

5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

7 When you, God, went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness,

8 the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.

9 You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.

Have a richly blessed day!

From the bubbles,
Jana M. Gamble

Live a Lifestyle of a Giver! Join the movement of Give Back Fridays in the St. Louis Community where local businesses receive sweet treats from Aminah’s Treats & More and an autographed book from Jana M. Gamble. This is my 107th post many more coming soon!

Wow didn’t realized how much I missed doing my blog until the revelation to write just fell upon me! It has been on my spirit that I needed to get back to blogging and ministering through my words to others a lot over the past weekend but I still had not taken any action.

Let me start by saying- take a deep breath and blow it all the way out. Take another deep breath and blow it all the way out. Just breathe. We all know that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy. We know that he can take power over us if we allow him to do so. We need to know that we have authority, from God over the devil. We must renew our minds daily in order to fight fear, anxiety, hopelessness, pain and discouragement with FAITH. You have to put on your armor daily and fight with your spiritual weapons over this spiritual warfare.

Lately God has been moving so much in my life that it is simply amazing. He is so good to me! Like the song says I cannot tell it all. Many of you know that I just gave birth last weekend. I hosted my 3rd Annual S.I.S. Retreat on the 16th which was absolutely incredible. Well, last Monday I began really being attacked by anxiety becoming physically sick throughout the day. I kept standing on the word, asking others to agree with me for it to be gone, meanwhile telling others to stop speaking doubt in their own lives. Also these past few days I have been having car trouble. Multiple times I’ve had to get my car because it kept loosing it’s charge. I had to search and wait for someone each time to get jumped because I was by myself or my knocks and calls ignored. Come to find out my battery cables were loose causing my battery to not provide power to my vehicle. When I went to get the cables tightened the man told me that he was able to tighten the negative side but that the positive side was stripped.

Upon receiving a text from my accountability partner this morning I received this revelation from the Holy Spirit. What are you letting him, the devil, strip from you? It’s no surprise that he will throw all of the negative things at us and trick us in to believe his lies and distract us from all the other positive amazing things God is doing in your life! Don’t let him strip you! Don’t cause yourself to miss out on the blessings in front of you. Don’t let fear steal your joy and opportunities before you. Keep pressing through!

Currently Pastor Blunt is teaching a series on How to Have a Radical Life. You can listen to this free online or from your iPhone through our free COTR app.  I sincerely encourage you to take a moment and listen to this powerful message it is truly life changing!

Today get rid of the fear that has been holding you back! Take control over your thoughts today!

Be blessed fam!

From the bubbles,

Jana M. Gamble