Our Handsome Strong Men

Happy Father's Day!

I love men. Got your attention, didn’t I? Well, yes, I really do love men! God made them just perfect. They are so different than us – they are rough, we are soft and tender; they are strong, we pretend to be; they are logical, we are more on the emotional side! We balance each other and that is why God made us to fit perfectly together.

A happy belated Father’s Day to all Fathers reading this – I pray that you are being appreciated and living up to your responsibilities as you enjoy the precious blessings from God. I know your task is great, and I pray you have a good woman by your side, sharing the beautiful joy of bringing up your children. If you do not, and, right now you are somehow feeling unappreciative, rejoice that God is on your side. He will reward you and your children in due season.

It pains my heart when I observe good men being decapitated by women whom they love and who profess to love in return. Ladies, we do have changing emotions and are sometimes overly fragile, but we should not use that as an excuse to disrespect our men. Sure, some of them might be deserving in our own eyes, but we should not try to play God and mete out punishment. Our words should be seasoned with love, encouragement, gratitude, peace, and joy.

Picture this: Worship services are over and everyone meeting and greeting in the foyer. Out came wife number one all emotional, because husband didn’t pick up the child from the nursery, “Why didn’t you get Sophie out of the nursery? I can’t trust you take care of one little thing. Don’t leave her in the nursery if you are not going to go pick her up.” Loud enough for a number of people to hear! The very controlled, patient handsome husband attempted a response, but she launched into more assaults with her words and body language, so he shook his head and walked off – obviously embarrassed!

Why was all that necessary? Where was the control on the part of the beautiful wife? Why talk to the love of your life in that manner and in a crowd? I know that sometimes we don’t even realize what we are saying and doing. We are just reacting out of our emotions. I have been there (and perhaps sometimes still do) and have been short or outright disrespectful to my handsome man in a public setting. He does the godly thing by not responding in a harsh manner. I have also been blessed to have my beautiful sister pull me aside and make me aware of my actions. Honestly, sometimes I wasn’t aware that my responses came across so harshly to the observer. We need to become more aware of the effects our speech has on our handsome men.

If the roles were reversed, I am sure many would start to scream “verbal abuse!”, “verbal abuse!”, “verbal abuse!” Yet, day by day our handsome men are subjected to our harsh unseasoned tongue lashing. We don’t encourage enough! We don’t praise and lift up enough! We know it is hard to find a good man, yet we don’t cherish the one we have found! We ought to be so ashamed of ourselves. We desire encouragement from our spouses - why not return the same? They sometimes pretend they don’t need to hear it, but that is simply because all their lives they were not encouraged or told how much they were appreciated.

It is amazing that I thought to write on this subject last Friday, and on Sunday, Fathers’ Day, our Senior Minister, Wesley T. Leonard, preached a stinging, encouraging message along the same lines. [Stinging to those who find themselves guilty of not doing; and encouraging to know that scripture supports the need for us to uplift, praise, and exhort our handsome men.] At the end of worship, one brother loudly proclaimed to a group of us sisters, “Did you hear that message? You need to get the tape!” I will be obedient and get the tape!!

The three points from the sermon, entitled, “The Strong Man” - Matthew 12:29-30, are as follows:

1. Men are given to reason, women to emotion. Ecclesiastes 1:25

2. Man was made in the image of God and therefore desires exhortation and praise. Ephesians 5:33

3. Men need affection from their wives – 1 Corinthians 1:1-5.

[If you are single, I am not sure what Minister Leonard had to say to you. I am yet to listen to the sermon as I was on Nursery duty. I would encourage you, as a single handsome man, to focus on serving God and pray that he remove that desire for deep affection from you until you have been united in Holy Matrimony. Easier said than done, but I know it is possible, trust God!]

I dedicate this writing to my handsome strong man. I thank you for all that you have done and continue to do. I thank God for you in my life and I want to praise you and encourage you to live a life pleasing to God. You are a hard worker and that pays the bills around here. With the help and direction of God, you have a lovely roof over our heads and we never want for food to eat. Your children shall surely call you blessed! We love you in times of laughter, times of sadness, times of great joy!!

Be encouraged, Dear Readers! My brothers, I encourage you especially to keep on being the strong man you are! I recognize your worth and appreciate you all for who you are. You all are heroes in your own special way. May God continue to bless you all!

Melanie

PS: If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the sermon, let me know, they sell for $5.00 on CD.

Emotions Deactivated

“Captain”, said Data, “I am feeling excited, thrilled, ….”
The captain interrupted, “I suggest you deactivate your emotions right now.”
“It’s done”, Data replied.
Then the captain looked at him enviously and said, “Data, there are times when I envy you!”

Wouldn’t it be absolutely awesome if we had the ability to deactivate our emotions at times? Ladies? Are you with me here?

Data is an Android (robot that looks human) in Star Trek The Next Generation; and he is exceptionally smart and devoid of emotions, therefore he usually makes excellent deductions, especially in problem solving matters.

Problems in our lives can sometimes fall on us like hail during stormy weather or it can attack us like bugs in the summer. It is even more troublesome when you are really trying your best to do the right thing and you feel like you are being bombarded from all angles. You feel like screaming, you feel like hurting, and you probably can’t help but feel like cursing!! May I suggest you deactivate your emotions at this point! Not so easy is it? How many of us nodded our heads in the affirmative?

Yes, initially I thought that was an impossibility for us being humans and made up of mind, body, and soul. But then I consider that our awesome, all powerful, all knowing, all seeing God made us in His image. He did not hold back from us, He gave us all that we need to live controlled lives. He asked nothing of us that is impossible, so when the Apostle Paul, empowered by Jesus Himself, tells us to “...let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful” [Colossians 3:15], I must believe that it is possible to deactivate my emotions! The “peace of God” mentioned here, enables us to have control over our emotions. We are even more empowered than Data, the Android, as we have the capacity to express good emotions and the power to squash those that are not good. We need to believe that we can have that type of peace in ANY situation, once we are committed to allowing God to guide us.

Never forget that God will give us the means to accomplish anything He asks of us. Our greatest responsibility lies in controlling our own emotions and emotional responses to people, events, and circumstances in our lives. Once we get this under control, we would have won half the battle! We need to develop strong relationships with God to allow Him to work through us to tackle this monumental (in our human eyes) task of keeping our emotions (the negative ones usually) in check.

When we find ourselves wishing for that “emotions deactivate button”, let us remember Jesus Christ on the cross! He had the power to speak one word to silence all those jeering Him, slapping Him, and laughing at Him. But He did not. Not because He was weak, not because He was scared, but because He was focused on His mission and maintained His peace. He kept His emotions under control, because He was determined to give us HOPE! Data deactivated his emotions and was unable to fulfill his mission. How about us? Are we going to grasp the peace that the Lord has left here for us and use it to help us on our mission? I pray we do!!

Thank you all for reading and responding. God bless!!


Melanie

By the way, Data can easily deactivate his emotions, but I failed to tell you that those emotions aren’t just negative ones, he is also devoid of love and can be extremely cold ……. Jesus Christ provides the right balance we need in our lives. Take hold, Dear Readers, of the HOPE - Help Overflowing Powerful and Eternal – we have in Christ.

What State Are You In?

The first time I did it, I promised myself, I would never do it again. Then a couple years later, in relocating from New York to Orlando, we were forced to do it. Again, I promised myself I would never do it again! Only too recently, upon the death of my husband’s Grandmother, and with funeral services scheduled to take place in New York, we did it yet again! Yep! You guessed it, “a road trip”. This trip should ideally take eighteen hours if you only stop to refuel, but with us older, and somewhat unfit people and young children, we projected twenty-two hours. We managed to do it in nineteen hours and Lorraine has not stopped chiding us for speeding. [Really though, the traffic was light and we had no meals in a restaurant, so NOT much speeding was done.] Despite the sadness of the occasion, driving together was of great benefit. We were able to spend time together in extremely close, confined space, and the children enjoyed being in the different states.

On the journey I noticed that once we crossed into a new state, the signs pointing to the welcome center are quite evident. Everyone was advertising the merits of their individual states and luring us to spend some time and some money. The disparity in the gas prices were also quite evident ranging from $1.71 to $2.25. All this leads me to ask this question, what state are you in right now?

What State Are You In? Almost fifteen hours into the journey, my friend, Cynthia, texted me to ask “What state are you in?” My immediate response was, “We are in Sleepy State”, because although we got some “shut eye” I wanted to sleep. My three year old woke up in Sleepy State and mumbled, “Mom, I want my bed”. Even the toddler recognized that that was no way to get a good sleep! Nevertheless, we were preserved. God gave us the energy and the strength to continue on the journey.

As the world around us seem to be crumbling, people are going penniless, families, and friends are dying, and it just seem like morality is hurriedly escaping through the front door, we will sometimes find ourselves in various states. We may not see the welcome center sign when we are in the “State of Despair”, all we might see is darkness. Don’t miss the sign … “ye though I walk through the valley of the shadows of death, I’ll fear no ill, for though art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me”. [Psalms 23:4] Imprint those words on our minds and bring to remembrance as we go through the State of Despair. Accelerate and speed if we must to hurriedly get out of that state.

Ooops! Now we have traveled to the “State of Discontent”. We just can’t seem to get it right. Things are not going our way and we long for something better in our lives. Please don’t slow down in this state, keep the speed limit, but get out on the wings of “they that wait up on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” [Isaiah 40:31]. Did you remember that we can ask the Lord to teach us how to wait? Yes, He Will!!

Dear Readers, aren’t you glad you made it through the Discontent State? Stop!! Don’t go that way to the “State of Sadness”! Now, now, now!! What are we going to do? Being sad is okay, but we don’t want to stay that way for too long. Take the bathroom break, wash your hands, and your face, get back in the car and read the sign written by King David, “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.” [Psalms 30:11] God will help us to move on through our state of sadness. It is up to us to put that car into drive and press that gas pedal to get out!

Why did we make that wrong turn to the “State of Loneliness”? It is late in the night and no one is on the road with us. Do we feel lost? Turn the radio dial and listen to the news, perhaps, something happened that we didn’t hear about. It just doesn’t feel right. Why must we be so lonely? It sure is taking a long time to get out of this State of Loneliness! Then again, King David found himself in that state and scribbled the sign that said, "Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life." [Psalms 142:4]. Okay, it can’t get anymore lonely! Everyone in our cars has fallen asleep and we are the one driving so must stay awake. My goodness! It sure is lonely on this highway!! We MUST find our way out of this State of Loneliness. LOOK OUT! Our exit is coming up! Read the sign "... God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." [Hebrews 13:5]. Praise God, we are not alone! We were never alone!! Our great Protector has (and will) always been with us - we only forgot! What a relief!!

In this country alone we have fifty states, and we can drive to all but one. In life, we know we have so many different states of mind that we often find ourselves in, so I could go on and on and on….. but I will stop here and encourage us to move over, put down roots, and take up residence in the “State of Leave It All To God” remembering King David’s poignant thoughts expressed on the billboard of Psalm 137:

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall[a] on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You
[Psalms 137:1-12]

“OH NO!” We still haven’t reached our destination! Please take the next and only right, and I guarantee that we will be in a better State…..if only we stay on the narrow road that leads to LIFE!! [Matthew 7:13-14]

I thank you all for your prayers, love, and tangible show of care and concern. Grandma Sophia has been laid to rest and as always, it was good to see (and meet) family members.

Let us try to remain in the State of Hope, knowing that our Righteous God knows just what we need! We praise and thank Him!!!

Such Comfort

Live, Love, Laugh

I am feeling so guilty right now. I have broken my promise to write every week and for that I am repentant. It is amazing how terrible I felt knowing that I was not keeping to my promise. And you might think it is a small thing, but to me, a commitment is a commitment. Too often we make commitments, big or small, and we do not follow through. Can you identify with me here for a minute? Well, just imagine how God feels when we do not live up to our promises to Him. He gives us such comforting words, and when the need for comfort arises in our lives, we turn to other people, other things, and other places. Take God at His word, Dear Readers, and “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) Such comfort!!

Live, love, laugh was the theme of our Ladies’ Motivational Weekend two weeks ago. Our congregation hosted the event and over 120 sisters gathered together to share and fellowship with each other on Saturday (the main event), April 4, 2009. Debbie Houston out of Rochester New York was the Keynote Speaker and she sure gave us a revival in our souls. One main thought she delivered and that I wish to share here is this:

"We serve a Sovereign God. Because of this undeniable fact, God has the right to allow us to go through some stuff. God is good no matter what we go through. We should learn to live, to love, to laugh, despite the hard circumstances; and this can only be achieved by having a confrontation with God. Get face to face with God, and submit ourselves to His warm embrace. God is our all powerful God and the sooner we believe this and live life to the fullest, the better equipped we will be to deal with our grief, persecution, and despair."

The Friday night before, we had a fun time singing, and fellowshipping with one another. We learnt that laughing will burn up calories, so we have been laughing since.

We were blessed to have received a revival in our lives, and I pray that we will call on the name of the Lord so that He can help us to stay alive in Christ. The smell of death is all around my family, but I have to keep on living, loving, and laughing as I know that my God is able! Now I must live what I have been preaching – hope in the midst of all our sorrows!!

And a child shall lead them

Last weekend we went to the youth convention, Lads to Leaders and Leaderettes, right here in Orlando. My boys participated in song leading and Bible Reading and we walked away with three trophies in Girls Songs of Praise, Girls Speech, and Boys Speech. This Convention was such a blessing. Seeing all the young people from Kindergarten up to high school enjoy singing, speaking, reading, performing (puppet theatre) for the Lord, was incredulous! They are the future of our congregations, and it is a wise thing that we are training them to fulfill those roles. I thank our leadership at our congregation for facilitating this training. This points to a future of hope for our churches, and we ought to encourage and uplift our youth at all times.

Thankful that God never gets tired of hearing our prayers!

After 11 p.m. last night, I was making final preparations for bed, and it would seem that every two to three minutes one of my boys would come calling, “Mom, my brother did this” or “Mom, can I have some water, please?” or “Mom, can you read me a book, please?” or “Mom, I can’t go to sleep!” (that was my three year old). Noticed the time I mentioned in the beginning? Yes, dear readers, it gets tiring and especially at that time of night! I’m human, and I am so thankful that God never gets tired of hearing my pleas, like I do with my children. Lately, we have been calling on Him a lot for help in our sorrows. This past Monday (4/13), my husband’s maternal grandmother departed this life. She was such a blessing and she served her family well. Many Sundays we would have dinner with her and she would always have enough for us to take home. Even when we don’t visit, she would call to say she made dinner. This she did not only for us, but for others of the family, and many at her congregation. To lose “Mom”, as we all called her, is to lose a wonderful blessing! God will sustain us, we know, but your prayers are most welcomed. Thanks to you who have already put through a call, send an email, or verbally expressed your condolences. As you pray, just thank God on our behalf for all that He sends our way. My Aunt/Mom is still low and we expect that she will go anytime now. We know that God knows just how much we are able to bear, so we rest in His comforting arms.

I encourage you to live a life full of hope!

A New Beginning-Be Comforted

• “Loss is life’s Long Non-Negotiable side: It is a time when we learn, unconditionally, that we are powerless over things we thought we had a grip on. But it doesn’t stop there, because every ending brings a new beginning”
  Stephanie Ericcson (used without permission)
  
  I was comforted to read this on a bookmark of the late Ryan Peralto, CD, former JLP Minister of Government in Kingston, Jamaica. “Every ending brings a new beginning” spells hope for me. I am in a strange place right now as I deal with the loss of my baby sister. She will be remembered always with a smile, and I will try to not wallow in too much sadness. It hurts so much and in such a strange way that words cannot aptly describe what I’m feeling. Nevertheless, I am fully aware that her death served some wonderful purposes, and these can be the “new beginning” for many of us. This, my dear Readers, is cause for celebration and hope!
  
  1. Families we haven’t seen in years came together, and in the midst of our grief, we found reason to laugh, to talk, to catch up on lost years.
  2. Every night since March 2, neighbors and friends gather at the house to sit and comfort the family, play dominos, eat, and drink (don’t ask what they drank?).
  3. A community came together (never mind the ulterior motives for some) the Wednesday before the funeral, for the “grave digging”. This was truly a festive affair. We served over 250 plates of a full course meal and others still complained that they didn’t get fed. A small business owner came with his ice cream motor cycle and made some good money selling ice cream! We had a wonderful gathering and I was impressed to see the effect my sister had on this community where she spent her 35 years of existence.
  4. The wake was held on Friday, and I was again intrigued by the number of people who left their warm beds to come and stand for three to four hours just to show their support and love for our family (and to get something to eat). [In the midst of this excitement, my Aunt was discharged from the hospital. She is incapacitated and no longer has the ability to recognize her family. Yet, she will open her eyes and look around as if searching. It was sad to see her in that state, but I was elated that she was out of the hospital and in the company of family who loves her and will do the best for her.]
  5. The funeral on Saturday was also well attended. The little church on the hill was bursting in its seams. Over two hundred people were in attendance. The Member of Parliament for the area, together with his wife and son, took time out of his busy schedule to be in attendance. The Priest knew my sister well and spoke highly of her. The message was from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and if you have lost a loved one and still struggling to deal with it, I hope you will be comforted by these words:
  
  “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
  
  I cannot sorrow as one who has no hope. I will be comforted by the words of the Apostle Paul, and I pray that you will be too. I look forward with earnest anticipation to the coming of Christ. My sister has finished her course and has moved on. My prayer is that her loss will be a new beginning for all my people who are still alive as they come to know and to serve the one true God. Be prayerful, persistent, and patient. Be full of hope, dear Readers, even in the midst of our sorrows.

Righteous Will Not Be Forsaken

Over the last couple months, we have been hearing of much doom and gloom with our economic situation. For some of us, we are actually experiencing doom and gloom in our personal lives. I see the increases in prices when I go to the store (and you have to look closely as you never see a sign that says, “Price Increase” “Pay More”). In all this, I am confident that “ye which began a good work, will perfect it to the end”. Sunday’s sermon was on Psalm 37, where David spoke about being young and old and not see the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. It was especially encouraging for me to be reminded that God has been good, and He will take care of me, my children, and my children’s children. Read the Psalm again, and I pray you will be encouraged as well.

Let us hold on to hope. Let us trust God to “be faithful in all that He promised”. “Great is His faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies we see, all that we have needed His hands have provided. Great is His Faithfulness, God unto us”. [Read Lamentations Chapter 3 and be blessed.]

I remember growing up and, especially during the summer months, there was literally nothing in the house to eat for days. We had used up all our credit at the corner store, and so was left to grace of God. We would get up, have a cup of something hot sweetened with sugar, and then prayerfully pray that someone would come through the door with some money or we would go a-hunting for food that grows on trees - and God usually provides. We were hungry, but not for long! We learnt to appreciate and to not waste what we have when we are blessed by God. And that is such a great lesson for us to learn. Appreciate and not waste!! We need to teach that to our children (and learn it ourselves for some of us) and exercise greater control in an effort to minimize waste, as we trust God to provide our needs.

As I remind us of the hope that we already possess in a God who is faithful, let us nurture that hope in all of us by offering a prayer, calling, visiting, lending a helping hand, sharing useful information on ways to save, to live stress free, and to encourage.

Be hopeful dear Readers, and share the love!!

Comfort From Reading

“Reading broadens the mind” is a quote I truly cherish and believe. As a child from the rural (country) parts of the tiny island in the Caribbean Sea, my summers were spent at the Library, traveling to different places all over the world. It was absolutely fabulous and I did learn a lot about varied cultures.

Today, I still make time to read. Over the last couple months, I became a good friend of amazon.com; but now, with budgetary constraints, I am best friend with the public library. [They will even deliver your books at no charge!].

For those of us who has a passion for reading, we can find comfort in the written word. The Bible is the ultimate source of comforting words, read these three scriptures, and let me know how you feel when done:

• 
  “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalms 118:6)
• 
  “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
• 
  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5, 7)

On a personal note, although I might be crying fountains of water, I still know and believe that my God is the God of all comfort. I know He will comfort me in ALL my tribulation!

To those of us who do not have a great passion for reading, technology has made it so that the Bible and most other books are on some audio media (cassette, CD, DVD, video, and others). You can listen to someone else read to you at home, or in the car! What a blessing!!

I encourage us to travel the world and be encouraged by reading at least one book a week!!

Be hopeful!!

----------------
I told you about my Aunt who suffered two strokes. Well, today, she suffered another and is entirely unresponsive. We are praying for strength and wisdom to deal with what this may bring. God is ABLE….. and I do believe that to the very core of my being!!

My baby sister was hospitalized tonight and also not doing well. She has heart and kidney ailments. Again, we pray for strength and wisdom recognizing that God is ABLE….I am hopeful, no matter the outcome.

Thanks for your prayers