Keep Your Rivers Flowing

Can you imagine we are already in the month of February?  The year seems to be going very fast, so make sure you do not procrastinate about the things you need to do, just do it.  I would like you all to join me as I welcome two new additions to our MPUSH family Sydelle Walker and Kenise Kidd. Please pray that these beautiful gifts from God will bring continuous joy to their parents and that they will grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord. Let us continue to pray for our children in the various continents. Tomorrow we end our week praying for children in North America and we look forward to start praying for children in Oceania next week.

For this week I would like to encourage you to keep “the river flowing” within you as well as within your children.  John 7:38 tells us: He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

 What comes to mind when we think of a river? Firstly is that every river has a source, secondly rivers are dynamic they keep flowing, thirdly rivers retain their beauty, and a good river never really ends instead it gets bigger. When I think of a river, I also think of its purposes such as quenching thirst, watering the vegetation around it, as a mode of transportation carrying barges or ships, or simple just adding beauty to the landscape.  

God has placed in each of us rivers of living water and like a natural river, our source is Jesus Christ (He that believeth on me). As Christian mothers we also need to be dynamic and constantly flow. We cannot allow our rivers to become stagnant or like a cistern retaining everything that flows in us. We should instead become channels of blessings to others. As the river serves as a pathway for barges travelling from one port to the next, so should we serve to help carry those who need help to get to their destination.

 At times through neglect we have allowed things to get into our rivers to block the flow and sometimes reduce the size to a stream or even to become completely dried up. I can quickly name a few things that will block our flow, not reading the word of God, not praying, operating in doubt and fear, un-forgiveness, envy. Hanging out with the wrong crowd, and not keeping our mind renewed. My challenge to us is to get rid of all this sludge, and allow our rivers to keep flowing. As it flows just watch and see the changes it will bring in your life. Your children stand to be the primary benefactors to get nourished and blossom and before you know it they will be right there flowing with you.

Our monthly meeting takes place tomorrow at 4pm- 920 Morningdale Dr. Wilmington 19810. Come and be blessed by a dynamic woman of God.

In His Service,

Vilma

Lawful does not mean Beneficial

I hope you are all doing well and keeping warm especially over these last few very cold days. For those of you in Florida, and Jamaica, how about bottling up some of that sunshine and sending it our way? If you prefer we could make an exchange snow for some sunshine going once, twice, gone!

Let me pause here to give a very special welcome to those mothers who recently became a part of MPUSH (Mothers Praying Until Something Happens). I hope you will be blessed and empowered as you receive my weekly e-mails.

For this week I would like to share a verse from I Cor. 6:12 "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.

Although Paul was speaking to the Corinthians concerning sexual immorality, I do believe that this verse can be applied in general to us today. Paul in this verse is basically saying that what is permitted is not our only guide for our behavior. In other words there are limitations to our liberty. I may not get arrested for not wearing a helmet when I ride a bike or if I do not wear my seat belt, but are these behaviors beneficial especially if I get involved in an accident. You may have the resources to buy your children everything they ask you for but is this beneficial to them?  What happens if one day somebody says no to them? We cannot allow ourselves to be overpowered by our freedom that we make unhealthy choices in life. Food is necessary for our physical growth, but it does not mean that I eat everything that I see whether it is healthy or not.  Mothers we have the ability to make choices on how we raise our children. We can choose to do what is popular or we can use restraints and raise them according to the word of God.

How do we judge what is beneficial for us or our children? As we make daily decisions in life we need to consider the impact they will have on us or on our children. How does it affect my relationship with God? How will this impede my race? If you are unable to show a positive impact, I suggest we reconsider.

Please continue to pray for our children in the various continents, tomorrow we conclude praying for children in Europe and we start on Sunday to pray for children on the continent of North America. Do not forget that our next meeting will be on Saturday February 2^nd at 4pm. We will meet at 920 Morningdale Dr. Wilmington, 19810

In His Service,

Vilma

DO You Have a Dream

I do hope you have had a good week and as usual I do look forward to sharing with you on a Friday evening. During this week we have been praying for children in the continent of Asia. I trust you were able to join in this effort. Remember that your prayers do make a difference. It is not about eloquence but rather sincerity.

On Monday we will be celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s  birthday as well as witness the inauguration of President Barak Obama for a 2^nd term.  I assume that some of you may be going down to Washington to attend the inauguration and others may be participating in one of the many events planned to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday. Some of you will be staying home to relax or catch up on some chores and others like me will be going to work.  In whichever group you find yourself take a minute to reflect on what these two men have in common with each other. 

Here is my reflection: both these men had a dream, unfortunately Dr. King was killed before his dreams became a reality and what we may take for granted today was what Dr. King longed for but never saw. President Obama also had a dream – In his book “Dreams of my Father” Obama writes an elegant and compelling biography that powerfully articulates America's racial battleground and tells of his search for his place in black America. His search ended with him becoming President of the United States.  Last week I talked about things happening at the appointed time and shared with you Habakkuk 2:3. What is your dream?

 I would encourage those of you with younger children and grandchildren to share with them the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King and President Barack Obama. Then find out what their dreams are. Have them put it in writing, as a poem, an essay or even in a couple of sentences.  Habakkuk 2:2 tells us this: And the Lord answered me, and said write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Many years from now your children and grandchildren will look back and thank you for helping to shape their future.

On tomorrow between 12n- 1pm a group of mothers will be gathered in Washington DC to pray for our nation’s children, other mothers will be gathering in various states as well to pray. You can do your part right where you are, set your alarm clock as a reminder and let us join them in prayer.

In His Service,

Vilma

 

In The Fullness of Time

I trust you all had a great week and looking forward to a well-earned restful weekend. Please do not feel guilty to sit and put your feet up for a couple hours and read a couple chapters from a book. Housework is never done, so guess what it will still be there waiting for you.

By this time you should have all received the prayer calendars and are continuing to   pray for our children. I truly believe that our prayers are making a difference and children in the Caribbean and in the continent of Africa can attest to that. These are children we may never meet, but who may be the beneficiary of our prayers.

Here is a phrase that I would like you to think on over the upcoming days “In the fullness of time” Let us remind ourselves that God will come through for us always at the right time.  Some of us have a habit of turning up late to events, whether it is church, dinner, work or a date. On the other hand a small number of us have a habit of always turning up early. As I think about this I realize That God also has a habit of how he does things. He never seems to be in a hurry to do things for us too early, and He never drags His feet and get to us late, instead He seems to just get to us right on time, His time that is. Some of us have been waiting on some “stuff” to come through for us for years and cannot see any sign of it as yet. Some of us are still waiting to see our dreams come to fruition, to see family members saved, to see our children doing the right thing, for a good job, a husband, a car, our own home but nothing seem to be moving. We look around us and it would appear that everyone else is being blessed except us and we start to get anxious or doubt God’s ability to do these things for us that we are praying about.  Well God’s timing never coincides with ours, but HOLD ON because He will not even be a minute late.  Habakkuk 2:3 tell us this For the vision [is] yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

So let us pray that we exhibit the fruit of patience and keep our eyes focused on the prize.

In His Service,

Vilma

Take the Trade Off

 I trust the New Year found you in great health and with a new determination to positively impact those you will come in contact with. I hope you have being praying for our children in the Caribbean countries, if not you can start now and continue to Sunday the 6^th.  For those of you who are in or near Delaware please try to come out to our kick off meeting for the New Year. Come out and hear how you can “Reclaim your temple to claim your territory” (Spiritual, physical, psychological). This is an event you do not want to miss.

Here is what I would like to share with you this weekend.  As you continue into 2013 know that God wants to trade your cares, problems, mistakes, inadequacies and failures for His joy and peace. Most of us tend to miss or refuse this great offer and find ourselves in a constant struggle to find peace or joy in our everyday life. It is a natural tendency for us to worry and get anxious especially when things are not going the way we anticipated. We tend to believe that we are able to fix everything that is wrong in our homes, with our spouses or significant others and with our children. It is Ok to admit that we need help especially from someone who is more capable that we are.

 I Peter 5: 7 tell us this - Casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you. Psalm 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

God will give us Peace but we must first give Him our anxieties. When I look at the word cast, I think of just throwing something down or away, not neatly packing and putting to the side. When faced with things and situations that make us anxious do not try to put it in a neat package, instead just throw it to God, He can deal with it in the order He wants to.

 Mothers this is an excellent trade off – Peace and Joy for anxieties, cares and concerns. I would certainly choose the former, what about you?

In His Service,

Vilma,

A New Beginning

I hope you had a great Christmas.  What do you know this is the last Friday in the month of December in the year 2012. This year has certainly gone by very quickly. How was 2012 for you?  Some of us started out 2012 with a lot of plans and dreams which somehow never materialized. Some of us made a lot of mistakes and bad decisions in 2012. Some of us may have gotten promoted, or demoted or lost jobs. Some may have gotten married or divorced or found that person of your dreams that you are now dating. Well I must say that this was an extremely difficult and challenging year for me and my family.  I felt like everything that could possibly happen came at us- the worst being the loss of my 28 year old son. Although bruised and battered and not understanding a lot of what has happened, I am still thanking God for His goodness and His faithfulness.  I know that because of His incredible love for me He will turn to good what was meant for bad. However, in whatever state we find ourselves, 2013 is looming around the corner and ready or not it will be here in a few days.  A new year heralds a new beginning; it signifies a second chance at our goals, dreams and aspirations.  Let's move forward! We can't undo what has been done in 2012 we have to now pick up the pieces and try to make our picture from a different angle. For those who had a good year, you also have a chance to make it even better.

 Here are a few suggestions for 2013:

Let us start by celebrating the New Year with thanking God in spite of what was.

Let us endeavor for a closer walk with God by praying more and reading the Word more.

Let us walk more in love and forgiveness, kindness and patience.

Let us not live with regrets; “I should”, or “I wish I could”.  Instead let us resolve with, “I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phil 4:13.

Let us endeavor to enjoy our everyday life on purpose

Don't procrastinate in doing what God has called you to do.

In His Service,

Vilma

Its Not Just a Holiday

I wish for you a very happy Friday evening. Yesterday we completed our “50 States in 50 days” of praying for our children. I hope you were as blessed as I was praying each day. I had a wonderful experience, even just becoming familiar with the names of the various States alphabetically was awesome. Well in case you missed this experience, do not despair as I mentioned before, starting in January we will continue our prayers for children of various nations. Please stay tuned for more information.

In 4 more days it will be Christmas, one of the most important days for Christians as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately this has become much commercialized and most people spend hundreds of dollars and a lot of time shopping for gifts. Credit cards will be maxed out in trying to make sure we get everyone that very special gift.  There is nothing wrong with giving people gifts, but we should never make it the reason for Christmas.  Most of these gifts that you buy will be taken back to the stores or re-gifted or will be left in the box untouched, and then there are those gifts that will get broken by the end of the first day. Some of us who will receive gifts may be disappointed with it, because it does not meet with our expectations. In other words these gifts are not lasting.

Let me suggest that this year we do things a little differently. Let us resolve not to use our credit cards to shop. If you cannot pay for it in cash leave it alone. Do not be stuck with a bill to start the New Year. Next, you do not have to get every gift your child has on their Christmas list.  How about choosing two of the most important ones and reward them throughout the year with the rest you were not able to get for Christmas. They may be temporarily upset on Christmas day, but can you imagine their delight throughout the year receiving these gifts they may have forgotten about.

 I suggest that we give gifts that are needed and lasting such as the gift of forgiveness that you have held up for so many years from that friend or relative that badly needs it. How about giving the gifts of love, mercy, kindness and joy? You may not have thought about it but these are very valuable and lasting gifts that bring a smile each time they are given. If you think about it Christmas time can get very lonely for a lot of people. Some are depressed, others are sad, let us bring to them the message of hope, and remind them that Jesus Christ the Savior is born. Remind them: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.(Isaiah 9:6). One good thing is that this won’t cost you anything monetary and if it does it will not be an arm and a leg.

God gave us the greatest gift that any person could ever give or receive. He wants us to pattern our giving as He did by giving something that will last. So as you gather around your Christmas tree and open your gifts and see the joy on your loved ones faces, remind them of the real reason for the season.

In His service,

Vilma