Author's Showcase
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MARCH 11 - LET THE MASK FALL
When you handle yourself, use your head; when you handle others, use your heart. -Donna Reed
Don't worry that children never listen to you. Worry that they are always watching you. -Robert Fulghum
As parents, we strive to do what’s best for our children. We guide them in biblical truths & become role models for our children to follow. At times, the road of parenting may be tough & you may feel as though a brick wall would listen better to you than your child! Oh, you’ve tried the scolding, the yelling, even the spanking & for some reason it’s not getting through to your child.
You want to know how to get through to that hardened teenager living in your house being disrespectful & taking you for granted? Wash their laundry or the dishes & let them hear you cry out to the Lord for your strength. Let them see those tears, that you keep hidden, drip down your face as you wash up after them.
We keep a “mask” on our faces for far too long & keep so many things hidden from our children. Our children have no idea the number of sleepless nights we have stayed up praying for them. They have no idea the number of times we have walked into our bedroom, closed the door behind us, & cried out to the Lord for strength & guidance from something they said or did against us. However, I recognized that, occasionally, the only way I can get through to my son is for him to see the raw pain that, at times, he has inflicted upon me.
And with today’s kids having a “me-me” society this is precisely what they need to see. Why should they think parent’s are resilient & can handle any behavior they throw our way? For me, it has been a struggle not to appear “weak or broken” in front of my son.
I have struggled with believing that I must always appear to my child as the “mother that has it all together” in spite of any obstacles that come my way. Yet, by me sheltering my son, he wasn’t able to see how his behavior & actions make it tougher for me on a daily basis. He just assumed, with a child’s mentality, that because I am tough I could handle his behavior & actions & if he said he was sorry…then that was enough. But the minute I simply let the “mask” fall off my face & let him see & hear the pain he had cause…the impact it made upon him & the turnaround was astonishing. My son didn’t know how his behavior & actions could be so outrageous that I would look forward to going to work simply to get a break from him! So, you may think I haven’t hit the teen years with my own son…how could I possibly know what will help?
Let me say this. I have dealt with my son when he was 4-5yrs old trying to commit suicide because he wanted to got to heaven to see his daddy. I have been suspicious of my son self-inflicting wounds upon himself because his heart was in agony from witnessing the murder of his father.
I have heard my son at night cry out to God to just kill him because the pain of living was too great & he just wanted his daddy back. I have been at my son’s bedside in the intensive care unit as he has screamed for his daddy to come take the pain away & I was helpless to comfort him. So, I can say this mama has been through some of the worst things in parenting you could ever go through.
My son’s heart is still wounded from the death of his father but he is using his pain to help other kids & let them know how much God loves them. I am expecting an easier ride for the next 8 years then I have had for the last 10 years with my son!! With God all things are possible. Let the mask fall & be transparent in front of your child.
Hold on to your child, faith & sanity when the pain comes. God will work it out & the Devil is a liar!!!
Ever Faithful Servant,
Miranda
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JANUARY 30 - HE SERVED UNSELFISHLY, WITHOUT COMPLAINT
Mark 10:45
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Good Morning Saints,
As we know Jesus came to serve the many hurting people, like you and me. He served unselfishly, he served without complaint, and he served because it was in his heart to serve his people. He served the same people that were made to worship and adore him. He healed our bodies, he made fresh wine at a wedding, he taught, he fed over 5000. He proved that a little can be a lot. Jesus did not do it for recognition; it was just the way he was.
We can serve the same way if we try. We can serve the people of God without wanting something in return. We can make a little something go a long way. We can share the love of Jesus with all that we come in contact with. The other day I encountered someone who was very nasty towards me, and instead of returning the fire of nasty words, I just took a deep breath and asked the question in a different way. It is not always easy to squash the feelings of retaliation; therefore it must be a conscience effort on my part to bottle it.
I want to much for all that see me to see the Jesus that lives within me and not me. When I stumble I will repent and start all over again, with a fresh anointing. All the things that we have read about Jesus in the Bible, all of the miracles that he performed, he is still doing today.
He is still teaching today, because if it were not for his powerful words, I would still be dumbfounded to what I should be doing. I was one of those people that wanted to pick and choose what I obeyed in the word, but when I finally got it, the blessing began to shower down on me like April showers.
This does not mean I don’t have challenges like everyone else, because as you get closer to God and do what he wants you get hit harder and harder, but it is just a test of your faith, and this is something that I am now strong enough to withstand. Hold on, even when your world feels as if it is crumbling before you, God will prevail and step in on time. Ask for the strength to withstand the tests of the day, and as Bishop says ask for just enough strength for 24hrs. Have a wonderful day. Smile, because God loves you and so do I.
It will be great in 08’
Janet Chappell
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JANUARY 16, 2008 - ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT DOING GOD'S WORK
Romans 12:11-13 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Good Morning Saints,
At the all church meeting last night, Bishop spoke about the enthusiastic Christians that we should be, and reading God’s word says the same thing. The passage above states and I will give you my own interpretation of what I think this means. We should always be enthusiastic, we should still keep our spiritual warmth and intensity of emotion when comes to serving the Lord. We should be joyful because God gives us hope, we should be patient in conditions of distress (the state our city and nation are in as a whole), and we should be devoted prayer warriors because we know what prayer can do.
We should be going outside into neighborhoods spreading the good news of the Lord, because as you turn on the news every single day someone is in need of much prayer. We should open our minds and our hearts to those who are not like us, and introduce them to a Savior that can change the way they think.
If we could be that enthusiastic about doing God’s work we could change what the newscasters have to report about, we could change the way the government views prayer in school and before any of their meetings, we could change the death rate in our city, we could change our nation.
What are we passionate about? I am passionate about serving a great God, and serving God’s people. Start at work, at home, at school, when you are at the grocery store, you never know who is the next victim or the next offender, but if you can make a difference in one person then you have done something. We can not keep the goodness of God to ourselves. Share with the world the awesomeness of our Father.
Have a wonderful enthusiastic day…………….
it will be great in 08’
Janet Chappell
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JANUARY 9, 2008 - DEALING WITH ANGRY PEOPLE AND POSERS
Good Morning Saints,
Reading my devotional this morning God has just answered a question I have been battling with for a while. The question was how do I deal with people who seem to be full of anger majority of the time, how do I deal with posers (one way in your face and another behind your back), how do I deal with just out and out nasty people.
Being the person that I am, it bothers me when people are nasty for no obvious reason and I tend to take it personal. On more than one occasion it has made me want to pick up and move, from my church and my family, but I know that running only leads to other issues. So reading this and continuing further in the devotional it states that Jesus did not retaliate because he viewed us as the victims instead of the murders. Looking at our faces as confused and not of hatred, mad at what we could not see. That last statement is it, many people are mad about what they can not see, what is so great about this person or that person and what is wrong with me?
I have to acknowledge the fact that they really don’t know me and I really don’t know them and neither has the place to judge. I have to acknowledge the fact that people are hurting and sometimes become bitter and angry, but do not know how to channel that anger. Push through the idea that they should know better because they have been taught this and have been at it for years, because sometimes people can sit up under someone for years and not take a thing away from it.
Just pray to God to help you in dealing with any situation, pray for a changed heart for you and who ever the person is that you encounter, and pray to control your tongue when the old you wants to surface, make sure that regardless how nasty someone is to you that they still see Gods light in you. Walk away and have a conversation with the Lord, he is always there to hear you vent your frustrations.
Thank you Lord, for a 24/7 ear for me. It will be Great in 08’
Janet Chappell
LIGHT OF THE WORLD
