In The Heat of The Day

---I say

"get away from

crawly pest,

flying things;

and at best,

those that sting;"

---I say

"find a cool drink,

a spot to lay;

don't bother to think,

enjoy your day;"

---I say

"drift along,

within your mind;

hum a song,

you're special...one of a kind;"

---So, remember

in the heat of the day,

listen to your heart;

hear it say,

"take a rest

it's good for you,

also, I need it too."

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PAIN

Webster defines 'pain' as punishment; unpleasant or distressing sensation due to bodily injury or disorder; acute mental or emotional distress or suffering: Grief, the throes of childbirth; care, trouble; to make suffer or cause distress: Hurt. To put (oneself) to trouble or exertion. Syffer.

So when I say, "it pains me to see people troubled or giving in to problems and doubt," what I'm saying is, "I care." For us to experience ' caring' is to share a glimpse of how much we grieve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As a parent, and lover of my children, it's grevious to witness their fear, doubt, and disobedience...knowing how much I care for them. Therefore, my concern is an experince that comes from the Lord and keeps me prayerful and growing in faith. This is truth and comes from the depth of my being...my soul!

You see only God (Who is Love, our Keeper, and our Source) places concern for us on the hearts and minds of His people (born-again, Spirit-filled Christians who are walking in the Spirit and hears and obeys the voice of the Lord) to pray for our safety, our peace, joy and strength; to keep us safe from all danger and destruction; to keep us free from worry; so that we can be happy, content and safe from falling into divers temptations and tricks of our enemy(Satan). We are sure to be blessed when God's obedient people pray. We NEED their prayers.

Our Father knows our need and cares for us so much that He gave us His only Son; Jesus who shed His blood, suffered for us and gave His life. His shed blood is available to wash away our sins. His blood is the 'only' blood with cleansing power. His body carried our sins to the grave where they were buried with Him...and He left them there when He arose. He is the'only' Savior who arose from the dead and is still alive. He appeared before His followers to assure them that He had kept the Words of His Father and the promise that He had made to them. For a while He remained on earth with them; reassuring them of His promise and establishing them in the truth before ascending to His Father. He ascended higher than all the heavens in order to fill the whole universe.

We can refuse to 'grieve' our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He suffered for us and set us free by His death on the cross...only believe, accept and obey His Word. Just like David; I can attest to God's love for me. I had to face threats of my enemies, consequences of my sins, and challenges of deep sorrow. Through it all, I came to recognize God's healing power and unmerited grace. He forgave me, healed me, redeemed me, crowned me with love and compassion; He satisfies my desires and renews me daily. God provides justice and righteousness and is gracious and loving. He never leaves us. His love is unconditional. We NEED to praise Him; praising God puts hope in our troubled hearts. We are responsible for working out our own soul's salvation. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. We are God's children and He does not force us to love Him...He allowed us to choose life or death. Whatever the choice; He still loves us. However, we must keep in mind that we will reap what we sow and the consequences of our choices.

We as parents must not exasperate(irritate, make grevious) our children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Our children are to obey us in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother...which is the first commandment with promise...that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

We can live in obedience to God, by putting off the old self which is corrupted by its deceitful desires. We can be made new in the attitude of our mind by putting on the new self; created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

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Supporting Scriptures: Psalm 103; Matthew 28:1-8; Ephesians 4:9, 17-20; 6:1-4

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FREEDOM

Families and friends

as we enjoy this day,

let's remember our source

be thankful and pray;

Freedom and the choice to share

are yours and mine,

So let's reach out to others

and seek to be kind;

There're some who will bask

in their liberty,

And there are others who

don't know they're free;

They're bound by doubt that lingers inside,

while feasting on envy and foolish pride;

So when we gather to enjoy...

let's do our best

to give

so that others who are bound

may also be blessed;

I promise that if this we freely do,

God's blessings will overtake me and you too.

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Do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.___Galatians 5:13

A Mother's Prayer

To all my precious children in Christ,

I'm blessed to be your mom and have you in my life;

In our commitment to Jesus,

many days we'll fail as pleasers;

Yet, He'll love us nonetheless,

For He gave His life to give us His best;

So, when our days are not so joyous,

Let's keep in mind that He suffered for us;

Our enemy will never stop, slow down, or give in,

though he's defeated and cannot win;

Our Jesus, so sweet, loving and kind,

knows our heart, our thoughts and our mind;

There's none other who loves and nurtures like Him,

And especially when our way seems hopeless and dim;

He gave His life and shed His blood,

and nothing surpasses His unconditional LOVE;

Dear children, my prayer and desire is that you...

study to show yourselves approved,

obey His word,

walk in the Spirit,

keep the faith,

give Him the glory, give Him the praise;

For this is the least you and I can do.
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FAMILY AND MAN

A family begins by the power given to man,
To bring forth, to establish and to enjoy this land;
Power was granted from God above,
The price to pay... un-selfish love;
A family is crippled without a Christian man,
One that's loving and kind, and with patience
does all he can to provide, to care and understand;
Oh, how sweet it would be,
if all fathers could see
the beauty within a Christian home where true love
and respect flows free;
This power is given to man from God above,
If only man would accept and appreciate
this priceless gift... unconditional love;
It takes a REAL father to agree, accept and to understand,
that his family was begun by his desire and by his plan;
So, when times get hard and all uptight;
He's responsible to stay there,
not to mumble, grumble and gripe,
But keep love flowing... his family knowing
that he'll be there through the storms...till the dark
clouds pass and ev'ry things alright;
This too is power granted to man
from God above,
all because of love;
So, dear fathers of today,
who has a family or one on the way;
Don't let your family become a burden on other
peoples' hands,
Stand up and be counted as a REAL man,
doing the very best that you can.
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An exhortation to fathers.
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THE COURAGES WOMAN

There's no hope in life for the future

without the existence of a woman,

There'd never be a boy nor girl,

to enter into this world;

Neither would there be a thing called "birth,"

taking place upon this earth;

There're women of ev'ry type,

some are loved and some disliked;

There's the bold, the beautiful, the young and the old,

each with her place and position to hold;

There's also a courageous few,

who cares for sisters, brothers, friends and others too;

Filled with determination to serve mankind,

hoping that her struggling is soon to find,

her people delivered from the enemy's bind;

The courageous woman does not give up

when her future begins to look dim,

But keeps on believing no matter how grim;

Yes, this fight is that of a courageous woman

whose heart is not bound with fear,

one who is strong, compassionate, loving and dear;

It takes a courageous woman to strive

for the happiness and freedom of others,

Especially, when the highest mountains to climb

are presented by her own

sisters and brothers.

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Two Kinds of Wisdom

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, his deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitterness, envy, and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from Heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

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Supporting Scripture: James 3:13-18

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