Joseph Prisoner To Palace

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. The title blog that I'm writing for y'all today is "Lessons From Samson". For those of you ladies that may or may not know I addressed the life of Samson last week for Bible study and tonight about his life. His story is recorded in the book of Judges chapters 13-16 and it began that the Jews rebelled against the Lord and the Philistines oppressed them for 40 years! The number 40 is an important number because there were incidents in the Bible where the number 40 showed up. On Noah's ark, it rained 40 days and 40 nights, the Jews were in the wilderness for 40 years, and Jesus fasted, prayed, and tempted by the devil for 40 days. Jesus also was on earth for 40 days after He died and rose again before He ascended back to heaven prior to the descent of the Holy Ghost. (This wasn't the first or last time that the Jews rebelled against the Lord which was a pattern throughout the book of Judges. This wasn't the first or the last time that the Jews had a problem with the Philistines especially when David faced Goliath the giant Philistine later on!) Going back to the story of Samson the Jews were oppressed for forty years and cried out to the Lord to help them. Among the people who cried out to the Lord was Manoah and his wife who were a godly couple but they were barren. In our day we call that infertility struggles and they weren't the first or last couple in the Bible who had infertility struggles. (Other godly couples in the Bible were Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, Hannah and Elkanah, the Shunamite woman and her husband, and Elizabeth and Zechariah the priest in the New Testament had infertility struggles too.) Then a messenger from heaven appeared and told Samson's parents that they'll have a child and gave instructions what not to do. His parents were told not to cut his hair, eat grapes, raisins, or touch dead things because he was to be a Nazarite all the days of his life! There were two other men in the Bible such as Samuel (son of Hannah and Elkanah) the prophet and judge and John the Baptist the forerunner for Christ who were Nazarites and were ordered to keep that vow when they were born until they died. The word Nazarite "means to consecrate" not to be confused with Nazarene because Christ was a Nazarene not a Nazarite like John the Baptist! Then Manoah and his wife offered a sacrifice causing the messenger of heaven to go up in the flames! (Side note some believe it could have been Christ Himself that talked to Samson's mother because the angels name wasn't given. Christ did appear to people in the Old Testament but that's for another blog!) Anyhow Samson was conceived after his parents were barren which is so cool. But as Samson got older that's when things drastically changed. Some wonder why did Samson become rebellious? Could it be because he got made fun of as a kid or teenager because he didn't fit in? Could it be because he wanted to make friends or tired of being "the good boy?" Either way he asked his parents to get a Philistine wife for him when he became a young adult and that was his first big mistake. The Jews understood and were warned by the Lord not to marry pagans not because of racism but because God knew that marrying a pagan could potentially turn their hearts from Him. (We know that happened to King Solomon who had 700 wives and 300 concubines and they sadly turned his heart from the Lord.) It was when Samson prepared for marriage a lion roared at him and the Holy Spirit gave him the grace to kill the lion without a sword! Then he ate the honey from the lions carcass and gave some to his parents! That was the first time he touched a dead thing but that was his second compromise. Those compromises he did opened the door to living a life of compromise instead of living a consecrated life. Then Samson proceeded to marry the woman not knowing he was setting himself up for trouble. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14 warns not to be unequivocally yoked with unbelievers and asks what do Christians and nonChristians have in common. Samson didn't think about that at all when he should have fallen in love and married a godly woman instead! (I guarantee you that a godly woman would have done the opposite to what Samsons wife and other ungodly women he fell for did. She would have encouraged him to love God, lead Israel, and defeat his enemies!) He told her and the Philistines a riddle that it took awhile to get during their wedding time. Then the Philistines became vengeful and the father of Samson's wife gave her over to another man! Whew! Then the Philistines burned alive by fire Samson's former wife and her father thus Samson's revenge on the Philistines began. The Bible says that he judged Israel for twenty years but some of the people didn't like him though. Some of the Jews tied him up and handed him over to the Philistines. But Samson broke free from the ropes tied on him and used a donkeys jawbone to kill many Philistines! Ladies he touched another dead thing something he wasn't supposed to do but strangely God allowed him to kill off many Philistines! That shows God's grace and mercy right there. Sadly Samson continued to compromise by first dating a unnamed prostitute and the Philistines threatened to kill him! But Samson awoke and carried the gate outside and destroyed those who wanted to destroy him! But then Delilah showed up whose name means "to weaken". Another thing is that Delilah had a "seducing spirit". She used her beauty, intelligence, and flattery to try to get Samson to reveal the secret of his strength. She tied him him with bowstrings and ropes and declared to him the Philistines were upon him! Samson broke off both of those things causing him to be a "trickster" (as many men have that gift lol) and she asked again what his secret to his strength was. Then he told her to untie his seven braids on his hair to the point he had straight long hair and she warned him that the Philistines were upon him! Again he tricked her and she nagged him to tell her the secret to his strength. Let me make another important point. Delilah didn't ask it because she truly wanted to know she did it with the intention to share it with the Philistines to destroy him! I don't know about you ladies but that should have been a "red flag". Delilah had ungodly character traits such as her being a Philistine/ nonChristian, (his other women lovers were Philistines and nonChristians too) she was a seducer, manipulator, flatterer, and a traitor. Red flags should have gone off in his mind about falling in love with a woman like that period! Just because someone is good looking doesn't mean they have character! Proverbs 31:30 says "Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting. But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised". (Side note we ladies need to be aware just because a guy is good looking doesn't mean he has character. It also doesn't mean that we should date or marry him either but rather marry a man who's godly, has character, and is hard working.) Samson lacked discernment, he didn't take a step back to think about the consequences of his actions, he didn't learn from his previous romantic relationships, and worse yet he didn't seek the Lord in prayer about his choices. Another mistake is he had an "emotional bond" with Delilah and I want to say that emotional bonds are powerful. Parents can bond with children, close friends can bond, family members can bond with each other, significant others, (whether boyfriend, girlfriend, fiance, or spouse) and or us Christians bonding with our Lord. But a person must be careful not to emotionally bond with the wrong person because there's consequences for that. Forming a sexual bond or emotional bond can lead to ungodly soul ties to that are difficult to break off. Even though Samson didn't have sex with Delilah they were deeply in love which caused Samson to make the worst mistake of all. Samson finally told her the truth about cutting his hair and Delilah cut his hair while he slept! The wrong lover caused for Samson not only to cut off his hair but also cut off the power of God in his life! What do I mean by that? God gave Samson power through his hair which is why he was told to not cut it off! That reveals another big mistake that Samson made which caused to take the anointing and the power of God for granted! We Christians were given the Holy Spirit which helps activate the power of God in our lives and we better not take the Holy Spirit, the anointing, or God's power for granted. Samson woke up and knew not the Lord left him which is absolutely tragic. That made him prey to the devil and to the Philistines and Samson suffered severe consequences for what he had done. God allowed for the Philistines to capture him, gauge out his eyes, and put him in prison! Not only did Samson go to prison, he had to ground a mill in prison! I believe that God allowed that to humble Samson but after awhile Samsons hair grew back overtime! I believe that was God's grace and mercy again. The Philistines brought Samson out of prison, made fun of him, and had a feast to their false God's that they won or so they thought. Then Samson was leaning on the wall he cried out to the Lord to forgive him, asked for strength again and asked for vengeance on his eyes! God enabled Samson to push down the pillars with all his night and the walls fell on the evil people! God enabled Samson to kill more people during his death during his lifetime! Isn't that something? But ladies his story could have ended differently. Not only that his life could have been different too. What lessons can we learn? Number one seek the Lord before making major decisions especially in regards to marriage. Number two we must ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to live consecrated lives as Christians. Number three we must be aware and discern the attacks of the enemy and use our spiritual weapons to defeat him. Number four we must never take the anointing, our calling, or the Holy Spirit. Number five we must listen to godly counsel. Number six be careful who we form emotional bonds with, number seven remember our actions impact others, and number eight God can forgive and use our worst mistakes for His glory. Samson is another person in the Bible who went to prison but God brought him out! I guess it's the month to talk and write about life in prison! That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies, happy Lord's day, and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm sharing another blog called "Prayers For Prisoners Part 3". In case you ladies may or may not know I'm dealing with a loved one who I won't disclose names is incarcerated right now. I shared my first blog about it in January during my birthday week and the second blog I wrote about a week after Easter Sunday which was on April 5th this year. I'm writing another follow up blog and I'm gonna share about the importance of remembering prisoners and their loved ones in prayer. I've shared this Scripture before and I'll share it again and it's from the book of Matthew 25:31-45 about "The Sheep And The Goats". At the end of the age Jesus is either going to bless people into the kingdom of light which are the sheep but folks from the kingdom of darkness are the goats. He'll either say blessed are you for feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, inviting strangers, or visiting the sick and those in prison! He'll say to the goats depart for you ignored the hungry, didn't give water to the thirsty, didn't clothe the naked, refused to invite strangers, and didn't visit the sick or remember those in prison! Jesus will say to the righteous "Whatever you did for the least of these brethren you did it unto Me". To the wicked He'll say. "Whatever you didn't do for the least of these you didn't do it unto Me!" So ladies I can't stress enough the importance of remembering those in prison. I want to share in this blog different ways we can pray for prisoners and their loved ones and loved ones can be family members or friends. Number one pray for those that are justly incarcerated. Ladies we know that criminal activity is on a all-time high especially with school shootings, homicides, abuse, and human traffickers just to name a few and people like that need to get caught! Sadly a lot of them resist arrest or refuse to let themselves be found by the police. We need to number one pray if anyone has committed any of those acts of school shootings, homicide, abuse, human trafficking or any other thing illegal that they will turn themselves into the police and get arrested. The second thing to pray for is when they are in prison to pray that God softens their hearts, think about their actions, and for them to have remorse over what they have done to hurt others. The third thing to pray for is those justly incarcerated that the gospel of Christ will get to them and for them to get saved! The fourth thing to pray for those justly incarcerated is not only for them to repent to God for what they've done but also to repent to the victims whose lives they have shattered. The fifth point is pray for the victims of those who are justly incarcerated that God will heal their hearts, defend them, and hopefully they're able to forgive them too. As a bonus we need to pray that criminality goes down, for law and order, and most of all for us as a nation to yield to the Lord. The next group of prisoners to pray for are prisoners who are unjustly incarcerated. That can be for various reasons. It could be because of the police having the "wrong suspect" or maybe a judge wrongly sentenced someone to jail or in prison. (Side note it's a very sad thing that corruption exists in our courts systems and we need to pray against that in Jesus name!) Perhaps they were wrongly arrested due to racism or greed or even for the gospel's sake! I know right? The first thing we need to pray for that God will give them grace to deal with the prison environment even though they don't deserve it. The second thing to pray for is that God will send them the right lawyers and attorneys that are affordable for them and for them to have a fair trial. Next thing we need to pray for is that when this is brought to the police and judges attention that they'll see their error and truly repent to them for what they've done. The fourth thing to pray is if any of them don't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior that they'll get saved and if they're being arrested for the gospel's sake to pray that God along with their lawyers and attorneys will defend them as well. The fifth thing to pray for is for them to be released from prison in a timely manner and that won't happen again! Let's also not forget to pray for prisoners loved ones because that's very difficult on them. It's hard for loved ones physically, emotionally, relationally, psychologically, and even spiritually. First pray if loved ones don't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior pray that they come to know Him. If the loved ones walk with Christ, pray that God will comfort them, give them grace, and find a wonderful group of Christians who will pray for them and walk them through that difficult time. Another thing is to pray that loved ones will be able to be in contact with their incarcerated loved ones. Whether it be sending them letters, phone calls, Zoom chats, or visiting in person to pray that they can talk to their incarcerated loved ones. Pray for God to give them peace and for them to know when they need to get help. Having a loved one incarcerated justly or unjustly is emotionally difficult for loved ones and I know from experience first hand! Pray that they go to counseling if they need to get out their difficult emotions as well as pour their hearts to God too. Also pray that people don't become judgemental over these people who have loved ones in prison. The sad thing is whenever someone has a family member or friend in prison people sometimes can say "snarky" things to them and that's not right! How would that make you ladies feel if you had someone you knew incarcerated justly or unjustly and someone said a nasty comment to you? That would hurt your feelings right? Be mindful of that ladies. Another thing I want to say is that I'm going through this right now! I have a very dear friend who I care about dearly who's not at all connected to this women's ministry but is outside of it. This person has walked with me through the difficult times in life and has been a blessing to me in so many ways. It breaks my heart that this individual was unjustly incarcerated and I want this person to know that I love them. To my dear friend I haven't stopped praying for you or have stopped thinking about you despite what others think. I want you to know dear friend that I miss you so very much and I want you ladies reading this to continue to keep this unnamed precious friend in prayer as well as to keep me in prayer too. Not only am I asking you ladies to keep me and this friend of mine in prayer, also pray for my friends lawyers, attorneys, for him to have a fair trial, pray for this friends family, friends, and former colleagues that God will help them during this time. Keep praying that this friend is released in a timely manner and pray for God's grace to be on me during this time. My dear friend I want you to know that God loves you very much as well too. I know that sadly people who claim to be Christians can be cruel but I'm not one of those people! I will pray for you through until the end until this issue gets resolved because real friends support each other in the good and bad times. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. I know this blog was a bit heavier but I needed to write it to get this off my chest. Blessings to each of you ladies, pray for me and my friend, as well as not forgetting to pray for other prisoners, and their loved ones as well too. God bless y'all and have a great week everyone!

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. The title I have for this blog is called "Paul And Silas Prison Breakthrough". Now let me be honest with you ladies. I did not want to write this blog at all. What? But how many of y'all know that you can't say no to the Holy Spirit and get away with it? We can read about this in the book of Acts 16 but there's quite a bit that happens before, during, and after that. The first thing that happens is that the Apostle Paul and Silas "spiritually mentor" a young man named Timothy who accompany them on their missionary voyages. Of course there were certain doors that were open to the Apostle Paul and some doors were closed. But either way the Apostle Paul was determining to get the gospel out. Then the Apostle Paul and Silas shared the gospel with a wealthy woman named Lydia and she and loved ones got saved and baptized in water! After that the Apostle Paul and Silas were in a time of prayer and a slave girl was possessed by a evil spirit. (Demon possession is a real thing ladies. People may not always be possessed by devil's but there can be demonic activity in various systems such as government, entertainment, and personality traits just to name some. ) She told everyone that the Apostle Paul and Silas are telling people to be saved. Now her statement was true but she wasn't saying it led by the Spirit she said it because she was possessed by the devil! Also she had owners that made money off of her as well if y'all can believe that! (Some people question why people are in the medical field and if they're making money off of people being sick! That's just something to think about.) The Apostle Paul became so troubled by this woman that with the help of the Holy Spirit commanded that evil spirit to come out of that young woman and it happened instantly! Now y'all would think people would have been happy that this young woman who got delivered by the evil spirit but that was far from the truth. As a matter of fact, the young woman's owners were furious that they couldn't make money off of her anymore and they attacked the Apostle Paul and Silas! Now this is where the craziness began to take place. These men dragged the Apostle Paul and Silas to the magistrates and falsely accused them. The Apostle Paul and Silas were accused for stirring up a rebellion in their culture and those evil men stirred up the crowd against them too! Whew! Isn't that something how quickly gossip and slander can spread with or without social media? That's something to think about. The magistrates ordered the Apostle Paul and Silas to be beaten with rods and had them unjustly thrown into prison! Not only were the Apostle Paul and Silas taken unjustly to prison, they were taken to the worst part were their feet were fastened in the stocks! Oh my goodness! Yet in the midst of that the Apostle Paul and Silas at midnight prayed and sang praises to the Lord! Ladies I'm going to be brutally honest with y'all right now. I do not know if I would have done even half of what the Apostle Paul and Silas did and I'm sure if y'all were honest y'all wouldn't have done that either! As the Apostle Paul and Silas praised the Lord the rest of the prisoners heard them and a earthquake came and shook up the prison! Not only that, the prison doors were open and the Apostle Paul and Silas as well as the rest of the prisoners chains fell off as well! When the jailer in charge of the prison saw the doors were open and the chains fell off the prisoners, he drew his sword and was gonna commit suicide! Why would he do such a thing? Back then if someone went to prison and if the prisoner escaped the jailer would have been responsible for that and likely put to death for letting them escape! But in the midst of that the Apostle Paul reassured them that everyone was still there and the jailer asked how to be saved! Then the Apostle Paul shared the gospel with him and his household, they got saved, and were baptized that very night! The jailer also washed the Apostle Paul and Silas wounds and the next day the magistrates ordered that the Apostle Paul and Silas to be let go! Whew! Isn't that crazy! The magistrates not only asked the Apostle Paul and Silas to leave they also apologized for mistreating them! Whew! God works in mysterious ways! After the Apostle Paul and Silas left prison they visited Lydia and encouraged the Christians there and they left. I know many of you ladies know this story as do I. I know first of all it's not easy to praise the Lord in the hard times. I know that from experience. That's something I need to get better at myself! We know there's a song called "Praise You In The Storm" by Christian band "Casting Crowns" and that's something all of us need to do. That doesn't mean be "in denial" of the problem but remember to love and worship God in everything! That's easier said than done! I want to share this some of you may have loved ones in prison and if so they're in my prayers. Others of us may not be in a "physical prison" but the enemy may try to keep us bound in other ways. But thank goodness that our Lord is a chain breaker! He can set people free from physical prison and break chains in other ways! That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies, happy Lord's day, and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. We're on the second day of June but the title of the blog is called "Mender Of Broken Hearts". I know that last month was "Mental Health Awareness Month" but there was something else I felt the Lord wanted me to share with y'all. I'm sure all of us at some time had our hearts broken. I know that I have in my short 32 years of living on this earth and my years of walking with the Lord. Perhaps it was a death of a loved one, loss of a job, divorce, betrayal of a loved one, injustice in court, prolonged singleness, a loved one being incarcerated justly or unjustly, a married couple having infertility struggles, dealing with a wayward individual, gone through abuse in various ways are many things a person can go through which can break our hearts. I want you ladies to know that the Bible is full of stories in both the Old and New Testament of people that had a ton of brokenness in their story. I mentioned quite a few last month and I'll list some more. The Apostle Paul endured being beaten with rods, shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, unjustly incarcerated, and even was forsaken by "so-called Christians!" We all know what Joseph in the Old Testament endured. He was born into a dysfunctional blended family, (that's something we often overlook) was hated and betrayed by his brothers, put in a pit, sold as a slave, worked as a slave, and unjustly incarcerated and had to work in prison! But later he was promoted as prime minister, married, had a family, and helped Egypt during the time of famine. His brothers and their households realized what they did wrong and asked for forgiveness for what they had done! Also Joseph later reunited with his old father Israel and Joseph had him and the rest of the family remain in Goshen and took care of them during the seven year famine! Ruth and Naomi endured tragedy as well too. Naomi was married to Elimelech and had two sons Mahlon and Killion and lived in Israel. But famine struck Israel and Naomi and her family relocated to a pagan country called Moab to find a better life. Sadly famine broke out in Moab too and Naomi lost her husband during that time! Naomi's sons grew up as young adults, took care of their mom, and married Moabite women Ruth and Orpah. But after awhile her sons died leaving both her and her daughters-in-laws as widows with no man to care for them. But Naomi decided to return to Israel while Orpah decided to return to Moab. As we know Ruth followed Naomi back to Israel to take care of her despite having needs herself. Ruth gleaned at the field and met her "boss" Boaz who was a God-fearing man who helped her. He helped take care of Ruth and Naomi and it got to a point he fell in love with her! Eventually Boaz decided to redeem Ruth and marry her and promised to take care of Naomi too. Later Boaz and Ruth had a baby boy named Obed and through that seed came King David and later our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We know what Job went through. He lost his health, wealth, and his kids in one day. His wife told him to curse God and die and his "so-called friends" accused him wrongly for what he had done. He was a God-fearing man when all this happened. But in the end God rebuked Job's friends and God gave him double for his trouble. God gave him more children, wealth, and restored his health everything that was lost was restored! Ladies I want you to know that your broken heart and troubled life is not a surprise to God. I'm sure many of you ladies are private heartbreak or dealing with secret battles that no one knows about. I'm sure some of you wrestle with questions at night or even questioned God about various things. Ladies God isn't afraid of our honesty. He's not afraid of your questions. And He's certainly not afraid of your brokenness. Let me encourage you ladies to pour out your heart before the Lord especially the broken parts. That's something that I've had to do lately and God's been doing what I call "heart surgery" on me which has been painful but necessary. The Bible mentions in Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves those crushed in spirit". Gospel artist Wayne Watsen many years ago sang and wrote a beautiful song called "Friend Of The Wounded Heart" a song that has ministered to me and to others. (Side note I sang that cover song on YouTube last year as well too.) That song is about Jesus a friend of the wounded heart and that He heals our secret scars. If you haven't heard that song I'll encourage y'all to find it on YouTube and let it minister to you. I want y'all to know that God knows and God cares. I also want you to know that y'all are welcome to come to my virtual prayer meetings that I host and I and others would be happy to pray for you if you're dealing with a broken heart or other issues in your life! I wrote this blog to encourage you as well as to encourage myself to remember that God is able to comfort and heal us. God promises in Isaiah 61:3 that, "He'll give beauty for ashes" is one of my favorite Scriptures. God met the people in the Bible in their brokenness and if He did it for them, He'll do it for you and for me. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I can't believe that today is the last day of May but that let's us know that summer is on the way! Anyhow the last blog for "Mental Health Awareness Month" is honoring Dr Martin Luther King Jr! He's one of the most amazing figures that ever lived and it's my joy to talk about him again! Now I honored him during his birthday in the month of January and for "Black History Month" and I'll honor him during"Mental Health Awareness Month". As most of us know Dr King Jr was born in Atlanta, Georgia and was born to Reverend Michael King Sr (born 1899 died 1984) and choir director/ church organist Alberta (born 1904 died 1974) on January 15th 1929. (His parents got married in 1926 and remained married until Alberta's brutal assassination in 1974.) He had an older sister named Christine King Farris (born 1927 died 2023) and had a younger brother named AD King (born 1930 died 1969). Men on Dr King Jr on his dad's side of the family worked as sharecroppers while men on his mom's side of the family were pastors! Not only were he and his siblings pastors kids at "Ebenezer Baptist Church", but many extended family members were pastors too! That's something to be a pastors kid and have family members as pastors! Dr King Jr's actual birth name was Michael King Jr and grew up as a child not only in the segregated South but also during the "Great Depression". Now get this. Reverend King Sr took over "Ebenezer Baptist Church" after his father-in-law Reverend Adam Williams died and went to heaven, (Alberta's father) and by God's grace was able to thrive despite the "Great Depression" going on. Dr King Jr's name changed in 1934 when his dad traveled to Germany and learned about legendary Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther and saw his impact on Germany. That caused for Reverend Michael King Sr to Reverend Martin Luther King Sr and changed Michael King Jr to Martin Luther King Jr! Isn't that something? He grew up singing in the choir, played piano, and also was a smart student too. He managed to skip two grades his freshman year and his senior year in highschool! Now that's unusual to skip one grade much less two grades which is even rarer! Later Dr King Jr graduated from high school in 1944 when he was was only fifteen years old and headed to "Morehouse College" (same college his dad attended and others in his family) to get his bachelor's degree. He later got his masters and doctorate degree by the time he was in his mid twenties! That was rare back then for people to get their doctorate degree black or white. He met Coretta Scott in 1952 and he fell in love with her before she fell for him! Isn't that sweet? They later married in 1953 and remained married until his brutal death in 1968 and they had four children. Yolanda "Yokie" King (born 1955 died 2007), Martin Luther King 3 (born 1957), Dexter King, (born 1961 died 2024), and Bernice King (born 1963). Dr King Jr also became a minister like his father and sought to bring peace between blacks and whites. It started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama when the late Rosa Parks (born 1913 died in 2005) sat on the bus and refused to give up her seat and got unjustly arrested for that. That's what sparked the "Civil Rights Movement" to have begun and it went on for the next thirteen years. But the purpose of me writing this blog is to share the challenges Dr King Jr faced. As a youth he battled with depression and tried to commit suicide twice. He blamed himself when his grandma Jean (his mom Alberta's mom the widow of Reverend Adam Williams) died and went to heaven. He as many of y'all know unjustly got arrested a number of times which I can only imagine impacted his family. The FBI actually encouraged Dr King Jr to commit suicide in order convince him to stop bridging the gap between blacks and whites! Also many peaceful protests happened and water hoses were sprayed to stop them. Even some protestors got arrested unjustly and the opposers were violent with protesters! I can only imagine how physically and emotionally difficult it must have been for Dr King Jr, his family, and the protesters having to deal with that trauma. I want you ladies to know what a sacrifice it was to fight for racial injustice which isn't easy to talk about but its necessary. But I have no doubt they had to lean on God for grace to get by and we know that Dr King Jr gave the "I Have A Dream Speech" . He later won the Nobel Peace Prize and got the Civil Rights Act passed as law in 1964! When he got assassinated in 1968, it was revealed he had issues with his heart and many believed if he would have lived longer he possibly could have died of a heart attack? The reason being is because of the trauma that he endured seeking to bring blacks and whites together! I want you ladies to know that this man has gone through a lot and was no stranger to dealing with trauma. Also remember he was a minister and public figure and want y'all to know pastors and public figures aren't immune from dealing with trauma. Can you imagine the pressure and stress that Dr King Jr had to deal with on a regular basis? I'm sure anyone else having to endure that it would have been too much for them. We need to pray for pastors to find balance in their walk with Christ, dealing with family, their ministry, as well as their mental health. You don't know what ministers go through behind closed doors so we need to keep them in prayer. Public figures whether Christian or not aren't immune from mental health challenges too. (I shared several figures this entire month!) As we close "Mental Health Awareness Month", I want y'all to know I enjoyed sharing blogs about people who endured various struggles but overcame them. It's important of taking care of our spiritual and mental health as we prioritize taking care of others and other responsibilities. Also don't hesitate to reach out for help and I can't wait to share more about it next year while we should care about mental health all year long! Blessings, happy Lord's day, and enjoy the blog!

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I also hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families had a good ''Memorial Day'' yesterday as did I with my family. The title I have for the blog is called ''Lessons From Rebecca St James''. What's her background? She was born in Sydney, Australia in 1977 as Rebecca Jean Smallbone and was born to Christian parents David and Helen Smallbone. Her mom was a stay at home mom while her dad David was a music promoter and often took his family with him on the road to help promote Christian artists. Rebecca is the oldest of seven siblings whose names are Daniel, Ben, Joel, Luke, (Joel and Luke are from Christian music band ''For King And Country'') Joshua, and the youngest daughter named Libby. Rebecca and her younger siblings gave their lives to Christ when they were young and Rebecca started singing at church at a young age. Her musical talent caught the eye of Contemporary Christian artist the late Carmen (born 1956 died 2021 at 65 years old) during his Australian tour. Then in 1991 Rebecca released her independent album called ''Refresh My Heart'' under ''Rebecca Jean''. Not long after that, her dad David lost his music company in Australia which caused him to desire to move the family from Australia to the United States. So David, his pregnant wife Helen, (she was pregnant with Libby the youngest) Rebecca, (who was fourteen years old then) along with younger brothers Daniel, Ben, Joel, Luke, and Joshua to Nashville, Tennessee! Whew! When they moved to Nashville, Tennessee the family encountered a number of challenges. Number one David who sought to be a music promoter in Nashville lost his job and decided along with his family to help clean houses for a while! Not only that they had to rent a place where they barely had enough to make ends meet plus David and Helen having to raise six kids with their seventh child on the way! They also deal with financial challenges, seeking to find a car, groceries, and getting used to a new country. But by God's grace, they were able to find a church family (a local Baptist church now it's a nondenominational church) that often helped them with paying rent, giving them groceries, giving the family furniture, Christmas presents, among other things that Rebecca and her family needed! (Side note Helen, Rebecca's mom homeschooled their kids from preschool through high school, something that my mom did for me and my sister too. I graduated from being homeschooled through high school in 2012 while my sister in 2014 graduated from being homeschooled from high school. As for my brother though he was homeschooled in preschool through middle school, attended a public high school and graduated from there in 2018.) Plus Rebecca, her parents, and siblings not only had to lean on each other but lean into God in prayer during that time too. I can only imagine how stressful that had to have been on her parents but God got them through that. (Rebecca's baby sister Libby was born in 1992 making Rebecca fifteen years older than her younger sister.) Rebecca continued singing at her local church causing people to be touched by her music and she was writing her own music too. She'd later be discovered by a major Christian music record label named Forefront in 1993, got signed to it, and later requested for her name to be ''Rebecca St James'' and she's been known for that ever since then! Rebecca has since released multiple albums such as her self-titled major label debut album in 1994, (year I was born) ''God'', (1996) ''Christmas album'', (1997) ''Pray'', (1998) ''Transform'', (2000) ''Worship God'', (2002) ''If I Had One Chance To Tell You Something'', (2005) ''I Will Praise You'', (2011) and ''Kingdom Come'' released in 2022. Rebecca has toured the world, impacted lives for Christ, won a Grammy award, and won multiple Dove awards as well. Wow! In addition to music Rebecca is also a talented actress and Christian author. I know, right? Some of the books that Rebecca has written is called ''40 Days With God'', ''Wait For Me'', ''Pure devotional'', (I have that one personally) ''What's He Thinking'', ''Sarah's Choice'', and ''Lasting Ever'' just to name several. Rebecca has starred in many movies such as ''Sarah's Choice'','"Rising Stars'', ''Suing The Devil'', and '"Faith Of Our Fathers'' just to name a few! As I mentioned before, she's the older sister of Joel and Luke Smallbone who formed the Christian music duo band ''For King ANd Country'' and they've collaborated on each other's albums. (Joel also is a talented actor and has starred in multiple movies as well in addition to him having a successful music career!) What were the ups and downs in Rebecca's personal life? Well as I mentioned earlier when she and her family of origin moved to America they encountered many challenges but God helped them through it. Rebecca was also single for an extended period of time, something that I'm sure many Christian single women (myself included!) can relate to. It was always Rebecca's desire to have a family but God often asked her to surrender that desire to Him and trust that He knows best. Jacob Fink was born and raised in San Diego, California and grew up in a Christian home. But he didn't get saved until his junior year in high school and later graduated from high school ''La Costa Canyon High school''. After high school Jacob lived in South Africa, helped build an orphanage, and was a missionary there for two years! He later returned to the United States and attended and graduated from ''Vanguard University'' to study business and film.He later joined a band called ''Foster The People'' where he was a bassist there for a season and later joined a philosophy group. His friends would encourage there was a good Christian lady that he needed to meet named Rebecca which he was reluctant to meet her. Remember Rebecca had been praying for the ''man of her dreams'' to show up and Jacob who's six years younger prayed to meet a godly young woman like her! Well one day they met after a show in February 2010 and they continued dating for the next nine months! Rebecca had dated many guys before Jacob but none of them felt like ''the one'' until she met Jacob! After nine months of dating on Christmas 2010, Jacob proposed to Rebecca and she said yes! The two of them later married in April 2011 when Rebecca was about 34 years old and Jacob was about 28 years old! Fans were so happy for Rebecca because she finally had her ''Wait For Me'' moment with her man. (''Wait For Me'' is a Christian song Rebecca wrote from her 2000 ''Transform'' album about her future husband and she was happy to tell the audience she finally found him!) After the release of her 2011 album ''I Will Praise You'', she wanted to take a break from music to start a family while Jacob's ''Fostering The People'' band was in full swing and she toured with him just to support him. By God's grace, Rebecca and Jacob had a daughter in 2014 whose name was Gemma when Rebecca was 37 while her husband was 31 when their oldest daughter was born! But there would be struggles after that with Jacob being forced to leave ''Foster The People'' and Rebecca endured two miscarriages that would be extremely emotionally and spiritually difficult for both Rebecca and her husband. I'm sure it must have taken its toll on their mental health so they decided to go to Christian counseling together along with seeking the Lord. Rebecca later decided to do a concert along with ''For King And Country'' her brothers Joel and Luke,, along with other Christian artists where they all felt the presence of God. It would be after that, that God opened Rebecca's womb and enabled her and Jacob to have two more children. Rebecca and Jacob had another daughter named Imogen born in 2018 (Rebecca was 41 and Jacob was 35 when their middle child was born) and River Jack born during Covid in 2020. (Rebecca was 43 while Jacob was 37 when their youngest child was born) God redirected Jacob's life to producing music for his wife as well as producing for the 2024 Christian musical film called ''Unsung Hero'' about the life of Rebecca, her parents, and siblings moving to America in 1991 and the beauty and challenges they've encountered because of that! (I saw that movie in 2024 as well too!) I shared this story to let you ladies know that Rebecca has encountered many ups and downs that impacted her spiritually, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and even artistically but God helped her get through it. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies, Blessings to each of you ladies and have a blessed rest of the week.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog called "Honoring Our Troops On Memorial Day". Now we know that Memorial Day isn't today but tomorrow on Monday. (Side note I hope and pray that you ladies enjoy time with family and friends tomorrow. I and loved ones will visit cemeteries and eat lunch remembering soldiers and others who have passed on.) But I want to take the time to honor our American troops and Israeli troops too. Number one as many of you may know they are fighting on our countries behalf for the past couple of months and this isn't the first or last war American troops have been involved in. We know that many were involved with the "Revolutionary War", "Civil War", "World War 1," "World War 2", "Korean War", "Vietnam War", and war against Iraq among many others! We know that these precious soldiers said goodbyes to the to civilian life to fight for our freedoms something we should never take for granted. These precious folks understand that freedom isn't free that someone has to stand and fight for it. Not only that their families have to pay a price as well too and we need to pray for our troops protection as they fight for us and pray for God to help their families too. We need to pray for families who lost a loved one on the battlefield to pray that God would comfort them in the midst of that. Another important thing to pray about is when soldiers make it back home to pray they can readjust to civilian life, to find employment, and to get help for their mental health. That's really the main reason why I wrote this blog is because May is "Mental Health Awareness Month" and I feel would be a disservice not to address what our soldiers deal with. It's well known that many troopers deal with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) from serving c in the military and I say that out of compassion not from a judgmental standpoint. I believe that became painfully clear after the "Vietnam War" that it was brought to light many problems American troops had after that. Many of them struggled with drugs, painful memories of the war, some were kidnapped, and sadly many Americans didn't honor them the way they should have! I know right? (Thankfully it's much different now especially when the late 1990s and 2000s rolled around that we honor soldiers that served in Vietnam.) Ever since the "Vietnam War" it's been reported that many troopers when they retire from the war struggle with PTSD. We need to pray that God heals them from that and pray perhaps that will cause them to turn to Christ as Lord and Savior. Just as we civilians need to heal from trauma of our past with God and counseling our soldiers need that too. As we honor our troops for them laying down their lives for our freedom let's not forget that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ laid down His life for our spiritual freedom too. There are also "spiritual soldiers" in God's army who fight spiritually along with our Lord for souls. I believe that intercessors qualify for being "spiritual soldiers" and let's not forget to honor them as well too. As you ladies celebrate "Memorial Day" with loved ones don't forget about our troops and what they've had to sacrifice as well as their families. Don't forget those who died for liberty as well as what our Lord did for us on Calvary. Don't forget the retired troops who often battle with PTSD who need to heal from that and ultimately turn to the Lord as well too. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies, happy Lord's day, and have a blessed "Memorial Day".

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. As we continue on "Mental Health Awareness Month" I'm sharing another blog called "Lessons From Gideon". Now I know it might be surprising that I mention Gideon this month and I'll be sharing some revelation about Gideon that the Lord showed me about him. We read his story in the Bible in the book of Judges chapters 6 and 7 and when Gideon was alive the Jews sadly turned their backs on the Lord. That's the first thing it says in Judges 6 and when an individual or nation drifts from the Lord there are consequences. It got bad that Israel's enemies, the Midianites oppressed them for seven years! (Side note the number seven is a Hebreaic number and it's the number of completion!) The Midianites not only oppressed the Jews but also took their food, cattle, and livestock! Whew! I can only imagine how brutal it must have been for the Jews to have dealt with that! (Side note the current struggles that our nation is going through right now I believe is a result of our nation turning her back on the Lord. That's why I believe it's so important to be in the attitude of prayer over our nation who's enduring both natural and spiritual warfare right now which is why I host my weekly virtual prayer meetings!) The Jews cried out to the Lord to help and that's where Gideon steps in. The angel appeared to Gideon when he was hiding in the cave at the winepress. Gideon was hiding in fear in the cave when the angel of the Lord met him! That right there should tell us something! Gideon was living in fear, probably battling with anxiety, and living in survival mode! How many of us honestly can admit that being the story of our lives? We're dealing with our fears, dealing with family challenges, and living in survival mode. I've been there more times than I can ever count and that's where Gideon was. The angel of the Lord reassured him that God is with him but Gideon still doubted. That's another thing about Gideon. Gideon wrestled with tons of doubt and very likely it was a traumatic response. Anyone who has been through severe trauma often creates distrust in others or God, question people's motives, and overly concern for safety. I know I've been there and that's also what Gideon was dealing with. But in the midst of Gideon's doubt and severe trauma God still had a plan for him. Gideon offers a sacrifice of a young goat and bull unto the Lord then fire bursts forth and the angel goes up in the flame! What a scene that must have been! Gideon of course got paranoid because he encountered a divine being! God of course had to reassure him he's not going to die because the Jews back then had fear of divine beings appearing to them. (Side note I really believe it was a sign of reverence because there were many different situations when God judged the Jews severely for their lack of reverence. It's just something to think about.) Then Gideon came up with a brilliant idea. He goes and grabs some wool outside. He predicted if the wool be wet and the ground be dry he'd know that God was with him! That's what I call a ''fleece agreement''. (It means discerning to see whether or not something is God's well in a practical sense.) Well the very next God allowed for the wool to be wet and the ground dry yet Gideon still doubted. Then Gideon prayed to God for the wool to be dry and the ground be wet and the next day it happened! God was so gracious to Gideon despite his doubts and how much more is He gracious to us even in our lowest moments? Many of you ladies know the next part of the story that Gideon commissioned 32,000 men to fight within the military against the Midianite military who maybe had a million soldiers at the most! Whew! But God told Gideon there were too many men and asked if any of them were fearful for them to go home! Many men left, leaving it down to 22,000 but God said there were still too many men. Ladies think about this. Think if you or I would have been in Gideon's shoes. How would you feel that God told you to downsize your army when your enemy has more people than you? I don't know about y'all I would have been like. ''God have You lost Your mind? My army is shrinking and my enemy has more people than me!'' But yet Gideon obeyed God both times and the Jewish army got downsized again. How it got downsized the second time was to see which men would sit down by the water catching the water with their hands versus the ones kneeling at the water and drinking it like a dog! That seems strange doesn't it? Well, the amount of men who sat down to drink and used their hands to catch water were 300 men while the rest of them lay down by the water and drank like a dog! After that, Gideon and his 300 walked down by the enemy's camp late at night and Gideon's enemies had a dream that Gideon was going to win the battle! God was letting Gideon's enemies know that just because their army is bigger doesn't mean they're better! Then Gideon and his 300 men lit their torches, blew their trumpet which caused confusion in Gideon's enemy's camp. Now ladies remember that the Midianite army had about one million men compared to Gideon and his 300 men and this took place at midnight. As Gideon and his army blew their trumpets and shouted at midnight, God caused confusion to happen to the Midianites and the Midianites therefore started killing each other with swords until not one Midianite soldier was left! Whew! What a crazy way to victory! Ladies remember this. Gideon was not the most confident man when God chose him to be a leader. He was paranoid with fear and had trauma issues but God used him to win the battle against the Midianite army in the most unusual way. Ladies, I want you to consider this. Are you disqualifying yourself because of fear or trauma thinking that God can't use you because of that? Or maybe you've had to deal with generational curses or dealing with impossible circumstances right now that makes you think God is done with you? Think about Gideon. People in the Bible were human just like you and I are and if God was able to use Gideon despite his fear and trauma how much more can He use you? I would highly urge you if you're dealing with trauma to take it to the Lord in prayer and if need be go to counseling to help work through that. I'd also ask God to show you where the trauma is coming from and help you to overcome it so you can be the woman God has called for you to be. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies, happy Tuesday, and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog called "Lessons From Laura Story". What was her background like? First and foremost she was born and raised in South Carolina and grew up in a Christian home. Her dad was a working dad and her mom was a stay at home mom. Although Laura grew up in a Christian home it wouldn't be until her late teen years or early college years that she got serious about the Lord. She went to college to study music and had a arm injury and had to drop some classes. Later she went on a missions trip and had an experience with the Lord that changed everything. Her journey of faith began in a unexpected place. She later attended "Columbia International University" to obtain her bachelor's degree in biblical studies. She also was part of a independent Christian music band called "Silers Band" from the late 1990s until the early 2000s. She was the only female singer in the band and she also was a bass player! Eventually "Silers Band" signed to Essential records that Laura left the band. She released two independent projects called "Indescribable" in 2002 and "There Is Nothing" in 2005.(Side note famous worship artist Chris Tomlin recorded "Indescribable" for his 2004 album "Arriving" where that song, along with that other hit singles on that album were "Holy Is The Lord" and his signature song "How Great Is Our God".) Not only that, in 2005 Laura married Christian man, high school sweetheart, and engineer Martin Elvington and have been married for over twenty years! Shortly after marriage, they left their home state and home church and moved to Atlanta, Georgia while Laura got on staff as a worship artist at "Perimeter Church" and has been on staff there for over twenty years as well. Just as Laura and Martin were getting used to life in Georgia, in their marriage, at their church, and in Martin's job, things started to take a drastic turn. That was especially true in 2006 when Martin went in his regular doctor's checkup and found a brain tumor which turned him and Laura's world upside down. Eventually Martin had to have surgery and although he did recover he's had a disability ever since that time. I can only imagine how overwhelming and stressful that had to have been for Laura having to be a working wife and had to take care of her husband. Not only that, Martin had to quit his job and would be jobless and it took awhile for him to find a job that was a good fit for his disability! To make matters crazier INO records executive visited Laura and asked if she wanted a record deal because this person senses the Lord wanting Laura to lead worship nationally! Laura thought this man was joking and Martin her disabled husband thought it was a good idea! Eventually Laura said yes, signed her record deal, worked on her album that would be released in 2008 called "Great God Who Saves". (I used to own that album a long time ago.) Laura also later continued her education by later going to "Covenant Theological Seminary" and got her masters and later transferred to "Robert E Webber Institute Of Worship Studies" and got her doctorate there! Laura works at her church on staff Sunday through Wednesdays and tours Thursday through Saturdays which gives her balance in her career. (Side note Mark Hall from Christian music band "Casting Crowns" has a similar schedule tours Thursday through Saturdays so they can be home for church Sunday through Wednesdays.) She later released her 2011 album called "Blessings" which became her signature song about recognizing God's blessings in the midst of difficult times. I'm sure many of you know that song or heard about it at some time. God opened up Laura's womb and He gave her four beautiful children! Their names are Josie, (born 2012) Ben and twin brother Griffin, (born 2014) and Timothy born 2018! That was miraculous because doctors and even Laura herself wondered if she could have kids. Laura continues to balance being a wife, mother, and minister as well as continued to release more projects. Other projects consist of "God Of Every Story" (released 2013) "God Is With Us" Christmas album (released 2015), "Open Hands" (released 2017), and "I Give Up" EP released in 2019 to name several. She also has won six Dove awards and won at least one Grammy award! She's released Christian books such as "What If Blessings Come Through Raindrops" (released 2012), "When God Doesn't Fix It", (released 2015), and "I Give Up" released in 2019 to name a few. In fact I own the book "I Give Up" which has been the biggest blessing to me. The reason why I shared this blog with you ladies is to share about another well known Contemporary Christian artist who's walked through storms just as we have. She's endured her husband having a brain tumor that contributed to his disability and endured infertility but now has kids but it's made her to be the strong Christian woman that she is today. If you're walking through unexpected challenges today I pray that this story will encourage you and pray that it makes you rely on God more than ever before. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies, happy Lord's day, and have a blessed week everyone.