God has such a wonderful sense of humor. Yes He does. I think that’s why He loves me so; He finds me to be quite comical. The past few days I’ve had to sit back and chuckle at how He has presented a situation to me. It went a little something like this - I do something….He counters. I pray something…He answers. I sow a seed…He gives me a harvest. I listen to a song attached to an email sent to me …He sends confirmation while listening that He will give me the desires of my heart. That’s the kind of God that I serve.
For the past eight (8) months I have enjoyed being able to focus on my family, especially my children and their needs. It wasn’t a decision that I made for myself, but it worked out for my good; it’s been a long time since my children have had me 100% to themselves without having to share me with work, their extra curricula activities, etc. For eight months we’ve had dinner together, we’ve created a business together, we’ve spent many days laughing, decorating their rooms in their favorite colors and most importantly we’ve made time to have Morning Prayer like we used to. During my time off God had to remind me that what was meant for my bad has opened up so many doors for me. He showed me that nothing happens apart from His will and that it’s possible to have peace when the devil wanted me to have turmoil. My friend in D.C. reminded me that eight (8) is the number of new beginnings, so it is only fitting that God would close a door that I had just put my hand on so that He could give me my new beginning; He didn’t want me to lose focus of His plan for me (Jer. 29:11).
With a smile on my face I think of my friend, the jazzy medical student that sent me the email with the song attached. I hope she knows that I miss her too and think of her every time I wear the earrings that she gave me. Little did we know that we would eventually have a lot in common – God put us on pause to show us a few things about ourselves. As the messenger she had no clue how the very person that she sent me the message through would also be the person that blessed me earlier with an email that would change my life & my direction. She had no clue that while I was listening to the song that she sent to encourage and uplift me that I would receive a phone call with a job offer even before the song ended. Nothing but God…Whatever God has revealed to her about her future I know she’s going to take it by storm; being cute and jazzy along the way. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, since I’ve had a chance to pick with her as only I know how to do, but God placed me on her mind and through her He spoke a message that He knew I needed to hear. To my jazzy friend & to the person she sent the email through ~ God has a plan for our lives and no one can take our place. Many thanks and much love to you both! See ya at the top! TGBTG
~Stay Prayed Up!! CLICK ON THE LINK
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
TEACH THEM WELL...
The power of the written word…My daughter’s homeroom teacher have the words, “Teach them well and let them lead the way” as part of his signature line on his email. Every time I receive an email from him I am reminded of the song, “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside….” These are the lyrics to the song, “The Greatest Love of All” written by Michael Masser & Linda Creed. Seeing those words at the end of his email reminds me of how powerful they can be in the development of a child.
Teach them well…I think I’ve always had this thing about “ministering” to teens using my own uniqueness. Basically I say what you need to know, not what you want to hear. Show them all the beauty they possess inside... There's a young man at my daughter's school that has become my adopted son; I call him “the son I never had.” He’s a nice young man, a fella with untapped potential that even he can’t see. I was drawn to him because I saw past what he sometimes tries to portray as an exterior; you can tell that he has been “raised right” (as the old folks say). Untapped potential…God promised to give his namesake every piece of land that his feet touched; I hope that he realizes that this is his promise too. I predict that one day he’ll show me that he was worth every word of encourgement that I’ve spoken into his spirit. “The son I never had…” Last year he and my youngest shared a common thread of always having to stay at school for Wednesday detention. They were also placed on what is called a "contract" and threatened with being removed and sent to their “home school.” While talking with them about this in his eyes I could see the words of the Apostle Paul, “The things I know I should do, I don’t. The things I know I shouldn’t do, I end up doing.” That evening while talking to my daughter Shay about her “contract” she turned to me and said, with such sincerity, “But mommy I’m not a bad person.” It was then that I turned and gave my child a hug and reassurance that no matter what anyone says she was not “a bad person.” I shared his story, Shay’s struggles, and the contract with my friend living in Virginia, she said to me, “San, these are just kids being kids. They are not fighting, drinking, smoking dope, carrying weapons or cutting class. What do you expect from a child?” What she told me next left not only my mouth but my eyes wide open. As it turns out my friend was the child that most of her teachers thought would not excel; teachers talked about her in her presence assuming that because she was a child she wasn’t smart enough to understand and her peers ridiculed her. Parents didn’t want their children to socialize with her in or out of school – she was labeled the trouble maker. She wasn’t the A student or even the B student that would earn her the praises and the recognition and ultimately she was placed with the group of students that were “just like her.” A lonely place to be so I learned to depend on me… “San,” she continued, “the difference now between me & those A/B students is that most of them had babies before we finished high school and I didn’t. Some of them are alcoholics, drowning from trying to live in the world’s expectations. Quite a few are in bad marriages because they married someone on or above their expectation level and then the rest have been fake for so long that they don’t know who they really are. Me, the person that no one thought would amount to much has retired from the Army as a Lt. Colonel. I have three degrees and have less than a year to complete my Juris Doctorate, I live in one house but own three others, I am happily married to a retired Colonel and we have children whose college educations are collecting interest. I am well blessed and I did so because my mother told me to prove everyone wrong. So San, don’t give up hope for Shay or this young man because the world has no clue what God has in store for them.” “Prove everyone wrong.” Those were the exact words that I said to Shay & “my son” as we discussed “their contract,” Wow! What a confirmation! Thanks, friend…Ich Liebe Dich ~TGBTG
~Stay Prayed Up! CLICK ON THE LINK
Teach them well…I think I’ve always had this thing about “ministering” to teens using my own uniqueness. Basically I say what you need to know, not what you want to hear. Show them all the beauty they possess inside... There's a young man at my daughter's school that has become my adopted son; I call him “the son I never had.” He’s a nice young man, a fella with untapped potential that even he can’t see. I was drawn to him because I saw past what he sometimes tries to portray as an exterior; you can tell that he has been “raised right” (as the old folks say). Untapped potential…God promised to give his namesake every piece of land that his feet touched; I hope that he realizes that this is his promise too. I predict that one day he’ll show me that he was worth every word of encourgement that I’ve spoken into his spirit. “The son I never had…” Last year he and my youngest shared a common thread of always having to stay at school for Wednesday detention. They were also placed on what is called a "contract" and threatened with being removed and sent to their “home school.” While talking with them about this in his eyes I could see the words of the Apostle Paul, “The things I know I should do, I don’t. The things I know I shouldn’t do, I end up doing.” That evening while talking to my daughter Shay about her “contract” she turned to me and said, with such sincerity, “But mommy I’m not a bad person.” It was then that I turned and gave my child a hug and reassurance that no matter what anyone says she was not “a bad person.” I shared his story, Shay’s struggles, and the contract with my friend living in Virginia, she said to me, “San, these are just kids being kids. They are not fighting, drinking, smoking dope, carrying weapons or cutting class. What do you expect from a child?” What she told me next left not only my mouth but my eyes wide open. As it turns out my friend was the child that most of her teachers thought would not excel; teachers talked about her in her presence assuming that because she was a child she wasn’t smart enough to understand and her peers ridiculed her. Parents didn’t want their children to socialize with her in or out of school – she was labeled the trouble maker. She wasn’t the A student or even the B student that would earn her the praises and the recognition and ultimately she was placed with the group of students that were “just like her.” A lonely place to be so I learned to depend on me… “San,” she continued, “the difference now between me & those A/B students is that most of them had babies before we finished high school and I didn’t. Some of them are alcoholics, drowning from trying to live in the world’s expectations. Quite a few are in bad marriages because they married someone on or above their expectation level and then the rest have been fake for so long that they don’t know who they really are. Me, the person that no one thought would amount to much has retired from the Army as a Lt. Colonel. I have three degrees and have less than a year to complete my Juris Doctorate, I live in one house but own three others, I am happily married to a retired Colonel and we have children whose college educations are collecting interest. I am well blessed and I did so because my mother told me to prove everyone wrong. So San, don’t give up hope for Shay or this young man because the world has no clue what God has in store for them.” “Prove everyone wrong.” Those were the exact words that I said to Shay & “my son” as we discussed “their contract,” Wow! What a confirmation! Thanks, friend…Ich Liebe Dich ~TGBTG
~Stay Prayed Up! CLICK ON THE LINK
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