What does DELIVERED mean to you? Have you ever really thought about the advantages or disadvantages of being DELIVERED? Hello, my name is Daria Dillard Stone. Welcome to Conversations Of Courage, The Blog. 

I want to share something – and do keep in mind that I will never give you something to chew on that I have not already digested! When I decided to become a Christian I thought that deliverance would be a benefit, not requiring much work from me. I figured it would just “happen,” and all I needed to do was get up each morning and feel DELIVERED. But it isn’t like that at all. Let me be more specific – when I say I am DELIVERED – I am because I made a conscious decision to stop acting like I am running things in my life, and maybe yours. I decided to follow Jesus, and in doing so I discovered I had to bear a cross too. So I guess one could say being a child of God is a blessing and a burden. No one told me being DELIVERED (SAVED) would require Daria to die daily to what Daria wants. When I would hear the preacher or teacher say, “one must die daily to self to walk in the light,” fully I figured they were not serious – they were making conversation. Yeah – right!

There are many definitions for DELIVERED and one is “To surrender to another; to give in or hand over.” What does DELIVERED mean? Glad you asked. Delivered can be defined as “being freed from danger, bondage, or even death.” The Bible uses one illustration of being delivered as what God did when he sent Moses to rescue the Israelites from Pharaoh’s bondage. Read I Samuel 17:37-38; Psalm 7:2 and 18:16-20.

I want to be transparent in sharing with you that you and I may not have realized what we were signing up for when we decided to surrender our lives to the Lord. If you’d let me be transparent – being a Christian is HARD! There, I said it. So you see, being DELIVERED makes you and I a better friend, wife, husband, mother, sibling, minister, relative, co-worker, etc. Determined and Delivered is what being a Christian is. When I say I am a Christian, I am not saying I’m perfect; I am saying I serve a PERFECT GOD. Allow me to break it down for you:

We are DELIVERED when we no longer live to impress people – we were created to please GOD.

We are DELIVERED because now we can look at ourselves the way GOD does and not be concerned with what others think, say, or do.

We are DELIVERED because we understand that the greatest position or title we can have is SERVANT.

We are DETERMINED and DELIVERED because now we can love our enemies and not expect love in return (that is hard).

We are DETERMINED and DELIVERED because we no longer react to the lust of the flesh (that’s hard too).

Yes, I am DELIVERED which makes me more DETERMINED to break every chain that binds me from being ALL GOD says I am (or can be). 

I hope this has helped you stay Determined and Delivered as you move forward on this journey called life. Thank you for stopping by. Because I care I share.  

Minister Daria Dillard Stone, “The Servant,” is the Founding CEO of Sharing Ministries LLC. The mission is: Built on a foundation of faith and integrity, Sharing Ministries helps women from all walks of life to develop character, clarity, and courage by offering spiritual guidance, educational resources, business connections, and moral support. Daria states, “This ministry/movement was initially birthed out of the grief I was experiencing in 2007 when my darling husband Todd died. But now it has grown out of the grief and exemplifies the G.R.I.T. (Grace, Resilience, Integrity, Tenacity).” She is an inspiring preacher/teacher, award-winning author, and an international motivational speaker. She mostly wants folks to remember her as “The Servant.” 

CLICK HERE to visit Sharing Ministries International

What do you do when you are going through trials and tribulations, depression, and recession? Do you realize that your/our valleys validate who we really are?  Hello, my name is Daria Dillard Stone, The Servant. Welcome to the Conversations Of Courage Blog!

I initially wrote this thought down on 7.7.10 after attending my uncle’s (Paul Roebuck) memorial services (he was 83, I think). I thought about my family’s dynamics on my mom’s side mostly and why we were so disconnected and challenged to love each other – yet we never stop trying.

It showed me part of that situation, which was my fault. My fault because I allowed that situation to continue after becoming an adult. I didn’t ask my mom/her mom and her siblings “why” were we not close, and they were not able to “open up” and discuss what happened to make us that way. Yes, it was a Valley experience, but I never gave up hope. I always felt if I were to die today, I would want the last thing my mom’s side of the family to remember is that I love them dearly and accepted them as they are and not how I wanted them to be. 

It made me realize that the Valley experiences I have had with any situation – including this one with my mother’s side of the family – had also Validated that if I work the WORD, the WORD will do. Today I can see where God was using all of the pieces to fulfill a purpose only He could see was determined to be. Forgiveness, Acceptance, Humility, Silence, Honor, Peace – just to name a few have come out of these valley experiences. So don’t knock your valleys – kneel while you are there and wait for the validation that you are more than a conqueror! God said in HIS WORD! I just want to remind you.

Read: Psalm 23, 27, Romans 8, James 1:23-27

Our Valleys Validate Our Victories!

Because I care, I share

Daria Dillard Stone, The Servant

Min. Daria Dillard Stone, “The Servant,” is the Founding C.E.O. of Sharing Ministries L.L.C. Sharing Ministries, L.L.C. mission is: Built on a foundation of faith and integrity, Sharing Ministries helps women from all walks of life to develop character, clarity, and courage by offering spiritual guidance, educational resources, business connections, and moral support.

Daria states, “This website was birthed out of the grief I was experiencing in 2007 when my darling husband Todd died. But now it has grown out of the grief and exemplifies the G.R.I.T. (Grace, Resilience, Integrity, Tenacity).” She is an inspiring preacher/teacher, award-winning author, and an international motivational speaker. 

CLICK HERE to visit Sharing Ministries International