Refrain from Weeping

I trust that this weekly in-touch will find you all in good health. Let me take this moment to thank all of you who participated in the call to pray for children in each of the 50 states as well as for children in the various continents.  We have officially come to the end of the calendar but please feel free to keep the prayer torch going. 

For this week I would like to encourage those of you dealing with children who are rebellious.  Dealing with a child who opposes everything you teach or believe in can become frustrating to say the least. It can become so overwhelming that we stop seeing them as gifts from God and instead we see them as “our cross to bear”  Some of us spend sleepless nights worrying about where they are or what they may be doing and in the end we are left with ulcers, high blood pressure and palpitations. In our worry and frustration we forget to use our weapon of prayer, coupled with our faith. As crazy at it may sound, our worry and frustration will not change that rebellious child.  Regardless of how rebellious you think your child is they are not more that God is able to manage. Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I [am] the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? The answer is no.  I do know that it is much easier to say things that it is to actually do them, but give it a try.

Let’s do what Jeremiah says- Jeremiah 31: 16-17 Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

That is the word of the Lord your work -raising of your children, your prayer- shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they -your children- shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope -something you can expect- in your future, says the LORD that your children shall come back to their own border -place of peace, safety and well-being. Don't focus on how bad it is now, instead focus on the promise of the Word and the power of the Lord to bring it to pass. So begin to give him Praise and start to rejoice if you look hard enough you will see them coming down the road- they are coming back!!!

In His Service,

 Vilma

Upcoming Events:

March 1-31st: Healthy lifestyle challenge

March 2nd: Webinar

April 6th: Panel Discussion

May 11th: Mother/Child Breakfast Event

Ask What You Will

 It took me a while, but I finally got it that our attitude determines whether we will have a good week or not. Having a good week does not necessarily mean everything went according to plan, but in spite of the week we refused to let it get us” bent out of shape”.  I thank those of you who from time to time let me know that you are praying for me I truly appreciate your prayers.  Please let us continue praying for our children in the various continents our final continent is South America- do not give up now you are almost there, these children also need our prayers.

As I encourage you to pray for your children, please remember to be honest and specific before God. God knows everything including our thoughts, but he wants us to verbalize our concerns and our requests. Here is what James 4: 2b -3a says: yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,

God cannot lie, and like most of us do, He does not change His mind after he has spoken or made a promise.  So whatever He has promised is for the taking, it is ours- if you want it.  I realize that it may be difficult to accept this fact but it is true, that is the kind of God that I know, He never changes, and His word remains forever.

Let us look at one of his promise in Psalm 112: 1-2   Praise the LORD.  Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.  His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.

The word Fear in this passage means to Reverence. The psalmist is saying that when we have reverential fear for God we are not only fortunate but we find great happiness or joy in doing what he asks us to do. The psalmist points out that our desire to please God makes room for our children to become monumental in the land. He goes on to remind us that the entire generation of the upstanding or righteous will be blessed.

Do you realize that some of the blessings we are walking in at the moment are as a result of the prayers and uprightness of our parents, grandparents or great grandparents?  Mothers as we pray and delight in doing what God requires let us ask Him to manifest the greatness and blessings He has promised our children. Some of these blessings- good health, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, wealth, peace, protection and the list goes on and on.  For me that is God news!!!  What about you?

Beginning next Friday there will be a new look to our weekly e-mails. Coming next month we will have our monthly meeting as a webinar. This will give the opportunity for more people to hear what happens monthly in M-Push. Please put this on your calendar 3/2/2013.

In his Service,

Vilma

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,