Standing Firm

 How are you doing today? I trust that all has been well and that you are standing firm not allowing anything to make you lose a foothold in your walk with God. 

       I do understand that there are those days that make us question  our faith and make us want to take a break as we do get tired of fighting, tired of starting over, tired of doing the right thing, tired of transformation instead of conformation.  Maybe if we just take a break .....then we will feel better.  Well as tempting as this is we cannot let our guards down, we must stand and having done all we must remain "standing" Yes we must continue to PUSH knowing that God's strength will be made perfect in our weakness.

       We must remember that as the light of the world we cannot hide "undercover" but instead shine our lights so that we and others can see more clearly. It is important to understand that you are not alone and that you have a helper in the person of the Holy Spirit who is waiting to step right in as  soon as you ask him to. What I have come to realize is that when we get tired and overwhelm we are usually trying to do things on our own, rather than trusting God, we are trying to figure out things logically rather than Spiritually, and we are trying to please men rather than God.  

       So let me encourage you today as I encourage myself- Stand firm, stay focused, let go and Let God. The seeds you are planting today at home, in your children, in your community or at your jobs will be the fruit you will reap tomorrow and be able to feed a nation if you faint not.

   

 In His Service,

Vilma

Black History Month_ Mary Fields

  

   I hope you are doing well and is continuing to stand on the promises of God for you and your children.  The last two weeks have been challenging for a number of us with all that snow and ice.  I heard about the grueling travel for so many in Georgia as they battled the icy streets. Some people especially in Pennsylvania are still without electricity since Wednesday,  I truly feel your pain. In spite of it all to God be the glory!

 

February is a great month, not because valentine's day falls in this month, but it is also the month that we pause to celebrate "Black History."  It is that time when we highlight black individuals who have made a significant contribution to our history. Among these individuals are some women who have made great strides but we do not hear as much about them as we do Sojourner Truth, Madame CJ and Harriet Tubman.

 

Today I would like to share briefly about one of these women: Mary Fields

 Mary was born into enslavement in Tennessee. She was 6 foot tall. She spent her life doing heavy labor until she moved to Montana at the age of 52. After a series of odd jobs, Mary eventually found her niche. In 1895 she found a home with the postal service where she could use her special set of skills and signature toughness (often seen with a cigar and a 12-gauge shot gun). Mary delivered in any weather, across any terrain, earning the nickname "Stagecoach Mary" and inadvertently helping along the advancement of the rural area she serviced. 

 

Mary made things happen then. What can you do to make something happen today?

  

 In His Service,

Vilma

Unless the Lord builds the house.....

I hope you are doing well and have started to reclaim the territories you lost in previous years and gearing up to conquer some new grounds. Well this is the focus for MPUSH and for me in particular for 2014.  We cannot allow Satan to keep any of our "stuff" - TAKE IT BACK !!!

  

I would like to share some insights I received from reading Psalm 127. This Psalm is considered a family psalm, written for Solomon by his father  

David.  Solomon had a house to build, a city to watch over and children to raise.  In the midst of all this responsibility David encourages Solomon

 to look to the Lord for direction and depend on His providential care. David knew that as wise as Solomon was his wisdom was insufficient to bring success in all he had to do. I especially like verse 2 which shows us that regardless of how early we wake up or how late we go to bed, God is the one that allows us to have a restful sleep, not the amount of work we do.

  

As we hustle and bustle to get our house  and family in order let us always remember to include God in all our affairs, because without him we will fail or will have to work twice as hard.  Stay warm!

  

 In His Service,

Vilma

 

Spiritual Fasting

Many of us welcome the month of January to shed the many pounds that we accumulated over thanksgiving and Christmas. Some of us join the local gym and work out, and many will participate in various types of "Fasts" depending on how quickly they want to shed those pounds.

  Many Christians individually or collectively with their churches also participate in a Spiritual fast at the start of the New Year. For many of us it is the 21-day Daniel Fast.  There are approximately 99 verses in the bible that refer to "Fasting" and hence it must be of great importance.  Although God commanded fasting by the Israelites in the Old Testament, we do not see Him commanding fasting in the New Testament or as a matter of fact forbidding it. Many early Christians did however practice fasting and prayer as a part of their spiritual lives and so should we. Having said this we should not participate in a Fast just to say we did a fast, but we should do so with a purpose of gaining spiritual strength, a deeper understanding of God and a closer relationship with Him. Sometimes we need clarity from God concerning our next steps, sometimes we need a breakthrough concerning situations in our lives (our health, issues with our children, our marriages or our career).

When we fast it is not about the length of time fasting but it is the effectiveness of it. Although fasting is generally abstaining from food, you can also fast from other things that will require some sacrifice such as watching television.  If you have never fasted before and want to try it, you should start with a partial fast- such as abstaining for  a few hours and not an entire day.

  

 In His Service,

Vilma

 

Return to Sender?

I hope that 2014 started out well for you. I am confident that God has many blessings reserved and packaged for you and your family just waiting to be received. I trust that you will take hold of them and not allow them to sit with a return to sender stamp like what happens to our mail from the post office.
 I trust that you will take hold of them and not allow them to sit with a return to sender stamp like what happens to our mail from the post office.

Letters are returned to the sender for a number of reasons:

"Incomplete address" -I am convinced that will never be the reason for God's blessing to be returned because He knows exactly where we are at all times. This is keeping with Him being Omniscient.

"Addressee moved with no forwarding address"- God sends us His blessings to where He has told us to be. Most times we choose not to be obedient and we either stay when we are told to go or we go when we are told to stay.

"Addressee refused mail"- At times God has blessed us but because the blessing may not be what we thought it would be (size, color, value) we refuse t accept it. Do not make this mistake as this good be the entrance to greater things.

"Signature needed before leaving mail"-When God blesses us we need to acknowledge it as such and personally give Him thanks.  You cannot allow someone else to thank Him for you- it was yours. We need to endorse it by taking hold of it and allowing it to accomplish what it needs to.

 In His Service,

Vilma

A New Beginning

                                                                                                   

What are your thoughts as the New Year approaches? When you think of “new” what images comes to mind?

 Here is what comes to my mind- different, firsthand, fresh, original and innovative. As you approach 2014, think of how you can make it different from 2013.  How can it be innovative, original or fresh?

Here are a few thoughts: Let us embrace 2014 as an opportunity for not only a fresh start, but a fresh start on a new page. However in order for us to take advantage of this opportunity, we will need to let go of some old ways of thinking, old habits, negative ways of speaking and believe it or not some "old" friends and companions.

Let me remind you of a popular scripture verse we often quote: Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

 Reading this verse brings me to another thing we need to leave behind in 2013 our "old perception" and see things in an entirely different way.

So instead of seeing obstacles in 2014 see stepping stones.  When challenges come our way in 2014 thing of how much they will build your endurance and make you more resilient. Perceive God as your source and not your resource; see Him as having all the answers to your questions and not just a mere onlooker. 

   

In His Service,

Vilma

 

Christmas Carols