Paul And Silas Prison Breakthrough

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.

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 happy to present another blog called ''Lessons From Marvin Sapp''. This blog will be about a wonderful godly man who made a difference in the hearts of the lives of many people. Marvin's childhood was that he grew up singing in church at a young age and met his first future wife Malinda there. He grew as a teenager, became sensitive to the things of the Lord and got saved. He was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan and after high school he later attended ''Aenon Bible College'' in Indianapolis, Indiana and graduated from there. As time went on, the Lord opened many doors for Marvin to be used for His glory especially in the area of music. Marvin Sapp auditioned and later joined male gospel band called ''Commissioned'' that released their debut album in 1985 ''I'm Going On'' that later disbanded in the mid 2000s. (Many men joined the band especially Fred Hammond, the late Michael Brooks, Marvin Cole, and countless others contributed to the band that won many awards, toured all over the world, and produced many gospel hits too.) Marvin Sapp joined ''Commissioned'' in 1991 and was featured on the album ''Number 7'' and featured on two other albums such as ''Matters Of The Heart'', (released in 1994) and ''Irreplaceable Love'' (released in 1994.) (Side note the album ''Matters of The Heart'' was released the year I was born and ''Irreplaceable Love'' was released the year that my sister and mPastor Antonio Bowen my pastor of ''New Life Assembly Of God Church'' were born! ''Irreplaceable Love'' was an album that my parents purchased and played consistently in the house when I was growing up.) After the release of the album ''Irreplaceable Love'' Marvin Sapp later left ''Commissioned'' and became a solo gospel artist. Marvin Sapp has released multiple solo albums such as ''Marvin Sapp'', ''Grace & Mercy'', ''Nothing Else Matters'', ''I Believe'', ''Diary Of A Psalmist'', ''Be Exalted'' and so many more albums! But his ''breakthrough single'' if you will was his 2007's ''Never Would Have Made It'' from ''Thirsty'' which made him more of a ''household name!'' He released more chart topping albums such as ''Here I Am'' (2010), ''I Win'', (released 2012) ''You Shall Live'', (released 2015) ''Close'', (released 2017) ''Chosen Vessel'', (released 2020) ''Substance'', (released 2022) and ''Then And Now'' (released 2024) Marvin Sapp has won many awards such as over 20 Stellar awards, multiple Dove awards, BET awards, and Soul train awards! Whew! He also was nominated multiple times for a Grammy award though he didn't win! That's pretty impressive isn't it? Beyond Marvin Sapp's music career, he's also been pastoring for a number of years too. He often calls himself ''the preacher who happens to sing''. Marvin Sapp founded ''Lighthouse Full Life Center Church'' in 2003 and pastored there for many years prior to him relocating to Fort Worth, Texas and now pastors ''The Chosen Vessel Church'' in 2019. Marvin Sapp greatly enjoys pastoring and finds delight in shepherding God's people which helps give balance for his touring career too. In his personal life, Marvin has been married twice and widowed once. He married his late first wife Malinda in 1992 and they had three children together. Their names are Marvin Jr, (born 1994. Year I was born!) Makaila, (born 1997) and Madison (born 1999). Malinda Marvin's first wife was a Christian white woman making their three kids biracial and administrator of ''Lighthouse Full Life Center Church'' for many years until her death and going to heaven in 2010. (She died of colon cancer in 2010 and went to heaven leaving Marvin a widower and having to care for their three kids.) I can only imagine the grief that Marvin Sapp had to deal with for the years that followed not just for him alone but for his precious kids too. I'm sure that the death of his first wife was challenging spiritually, emotionally, and mentally for both him and his kids. (If I remember correctly, I believe he signed himself and his kids for counseling which I believe was a wise thing for them to do since grief is no joke to walk through.) The purpose of me writing this blog is to share with you ladies that Marvin Sapp, though he's a well known gospel artist and a pastor, didn't mean that he didn't have to walk through personal challenges, especially the loss of his first wife. I believe the inspiration of the albums that followed in the years after her death was him showing the world by God's grace he's been able to overcome that. I know many of you reading this can relate to grief in some sort of way and I especially can relate to that too. (Side note: even though I didn't lose a spouse or parent, I've lost multiple loved ones throughout the years and I've been transparent about the challenges of grief.) It would be a number of years before Marvin Sapp would even consider dating and remarrying again. Of course I'm sure he sought the Lord earnestly about it, talked to wise counsel, and took his kids grieving into account as well too. Well Marvin Sapp was able to thankfully remarry again in the early Spring of this year to his wonderful new bride named Dr Laboris Cole causing fans and people from his congregation to congratulate him! Him and Laboris had known each other as friends for several years prior to them dating. Not only that, Laboris is a clinical counselor, a degree she earned from ''Trevecca Nazarene University'', author, and founder of ''Born To Dance Worship Conference''. Wow! Sounds like she accomplished quite a bit before she got married to Marvin Sapp! When the two of them got married, Marvin waited for sixteen years prior to him agreeing to remarry! Marvin Sapp's three kids are grown with families of their own and they along with ''Chosen Vessel Church'' celebrated Marvin Sapp's remarriage which was a private ceremony between Marvin and Dr Laboris. Though it was a private ceremony, pictures of their wedding went viral on social media which made me happy to hear him remarried! I wrote this blog for you ladies to know that Marvin Sapp has had his share of ups and downs but because of God's grace, he's been able to overcome it all. If any of you ladies or any of your loved ones that have walked through the journey of grief know you're not the first or last to have walked through it. The Bible says in Psalm 34;18 ''The Lord is near to those who are brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit''. Jesus also promised in John 14;16-18 that He'd send the Holy Spirit as a Comforter as well too. Does that mean emotional healing happens overnight? No rarely! But time in God's presence can help the process and don't be afraid to go to counseling! That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies, have a blessed week, and trust God to help you and heal you or loved ones with your mental health!

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 "Celebrating Moms And Teachers". Let me wish mothers, stepmoms, grandmother's, great-grandmothers, godmothers, and aunts happy Mother's Day! Thank you for what you do for the next generation with your love and care. I also want to give a shout-out to ladies who are teachers and wish them happy late "Teachers Appreciation Week". I especially want to give a shout-out to lady teachers that may not have biological children but you're in a way "mothering" kids in your classroom and mentoring adults if you're a college professor. I want to honor you for that. Being a teacher is valuable whether you're a homeschool parent, (my mom was back in the day) preschool teacher, teacher of elementary, middle, or high school, college professor, teacherpreneur, Sunday school teacher, pastor/teacher, or teacher of the Word of God as I am! If you're a mom you get double honor being both mom and teacher! Now I know that Mother's Day can be a hard day for some people. If you lost your mom, lost a child, have a wayward son or daughter,or your kids or grandkids live far away I pray that God gives you ladies or men extra measure of grace during this time. I pray that God will comfort those who miss their mom or child who died. I pray for the mom or Grandma who has kids or grandkids that they raised to serve the Lord but drifted away from the Lord I pray that the wayward will return back to the Lord. If mom has a difficult relationship with one of her kids or the kid has a tough relationship with mom God will heal what happened with that relationship. If you're a single mom, if you're a wife struggling with infertility struggles, a stepmom, or you're an unmarried no kids single woman (as I am and some other ladies that are part of my women's group of) know you're not forgotten or overlooked. If you're a single mom may God give you grace to balance your motherhood, work, and responsibility how to raise your kids. I also pray for the stepmom in a blended family that God will give her grace to love her stepchildren and her stepchildren will respect her as well too. (Side note there are friendly stepmoms out there and not all stepmoms are mean!) For the wife that's infertile may God enable her to bear children either naturally, medically, (through IVF) or through adoption. For the single woman with no children or the teacher that's overwhelmed may God give them grace during this time. Single women with no children often get overlooked but thankfully I have a nephew though. Single women you can find young people or adults to love on and mentor making you "somewhat of a mother figure". You even can mother pets too cause they're fur babies! Teachers that are ladies can be mother figures too. I fit that category and some ladies from my women's group fit that as well too. Happy Mother's Day to my mom, sister, grandma, and my aunt and may y'all enjoy your day. Let me also say that God has given us women whether we are biological mothers or not the gift of nurture. That's what we women do! A woman is meant to birth life naturally or in another way! Ladies never forget that! Another thing I want to say is I'm so thankful for my local church "New Life Assembly Of God Church" for so many reasons. Number one they remained open during Covid, (It's a smaller church compared to my former church "Discover Church") been singing on the worship team more, and thankful for small community. But most of all I'm thankful that on "Mother's Day" they honor and give gifts to ladies in the church whether they are natural mothers or not! I'll never forget when I first witnessed that six years ago and I've never been at a church like that! That touched me deeply that they allow single women with no children a gift on "Mother's Day"! So thank you so much Pastor Kevin (former pastor of "New Life") and Pastor Antonio Bowen (current pastor of "New Life") who makes sure every lady biological mother or not gets a gift every year! That means so much to me! That's one thing I love so much about "New Life". I want ladies in my group that aren't biological mothers you matter! I hope you know that! As a woman you can make a difference whether you have a biological family or not! Let me wish all you ladies mothers or not Happy Mother's Day, happy Lord's day, and hope and pray that y'all enjoy your day in God's house and with loved ones!

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. The title I have for this blog is called the ''Life Of King David''. You might be wondering. ''How in the world can he teach us something about mental health?'' Well the answer might surprise you so the first time we get introduced to King David long before the incident with Goliath. We meet him as a shepherd tending sheep in 1 Samuel 16 where old prophet Samuel is told by the Lord to go to Jesse's house. Jesse introduced to the prophet Samuel his sons (before David came along) and Samuel thought the Lord would choose one of them! But you ladies know the story and God revealed to Samuel that man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart. Each of Jesse's seven other sons got evaluated by God and the prophet Samuel but God refused each of them. Samuel asked if Jesse had any more kids and he reluctantly mentioned David and David was called into the house. Then the Lord revealed to Samuel that David, though he was a teenager, would be chosen to be the second king of Israel so Samuel anointed him! David resumed being a shepherd because at that time the youngest able bodied male of the family was a shepherd and that was looked at as a ''least esteemed position'' in Israel's time! We know that David was a songwriter and harp player and was sent to play the harp for King Saul to help him deal with tormenting spirits! Then we know that Golaith the giant Philistine began tormenting the Jewish armies and King Saul and eventually David heard about it. He gave his brothers food and got angry at Goliath for disrespecting God and the Jewish army. He told King Saul he'd fight Goliath and King Saul suggested his armor but David refused. David remembered his experience of killing a lion and bear and used his slingshot and five smooth stones to kill Goliath! That incident would cause David to be known throughout Israel and become a warrior in King Saul's army! But despite him killing Goliath, that caused tension and jealousy between David and King Saul. Yet David befriended Jonathan King Saul's son and crown prince of Israel. David also married his first wife Michal King Saul's oldest daughter and older sister of Prince Jonathan. King Saul threatened to kill David with a javelin and David had to escape from King Saul. It got so bad that Michal David's first wife as well as his friend and prince Prince Jonathan warned David multiple times to get away from King Saul because of his threats to kill him. How wicked is that! In fact Michal and Prince Jonathan lied to King Saul about David's escape which made him even more angry and threatened to send an army to destroy David! But Prince Jonathan warned his dad if he killed David that innocent blood would be in his hands because the Jews back then took murder very seriously and knew the consequences of that. David continued to run from King Saul for years and often had to hide in caves and wrote songs to cope with dealing with that. As time progressed, he met a man named Nabal and took care of his flocks and asked to be compensated for it. Nabal was a wicked man who refused to help David and David and his men threatened to kill Nabal! Well Nabal's wife Abigail prepared food and other things and begged David not to kill her husband because her husband is a fool! (The book of Proverbs warns a ton about how God feels and deals with people who are fools. Nabal would not be exempt from that!) Because of Abigail's gentle nudge, David refused to kill Nabal and accepted Abigail's food, kindness, and proper compensation! Days later the Lord enabled Nabal to die and God enabled David to choose Abigail as his second wife! That may not seem significant but you must remember that Abigail was a godly woman who was ''unequally yoked'' to a wicked man Nabal but death was her way out of being married to him! As time progressed David became a mighty warrior and there was a time in Ziklag that he and his men returned only to find their wives (especially Abigail David's second wife) and children were kidnapped by the wicked Amalekites. 1 Samuel 30 addresses this incident how that was emotionally traumatizing for David and his men who grieved over the incident till they had no strength to weep! To make matters worse, they threatened to kill David but David leaned on the Lord despite that. Then the Lord prompted him to overtake the Amalekites and while his enemies were partying, David and his men fought hard and recovered their families by the grace of God! Then not long after that, King Saul, his son Prince Jonathan and the Jews went to the army against the Philistines and lost that battle. Prince Jonathan and countless other men were brutally killed while King Saul got wounded in battle. It got to a point that King Saul committed suicide therefore causing an end to his kingdom on earth and him being severely judged by the Lord during the tiime of his death. David at thirty years old became king of Judah and after several years of other battles with the majority of the house of King Saul that died (with the exception of King Saul's grandson Mephibosheth) while King David's house waxed stronger. When David was 37 years old, he was crowned king over all Israel! King David endured many more battles with the mighty bulls of Bashon but overcame them all. He sadly had an affair with Bathsheba Uriah, his general's wife and got her pregnant without him knowing. Uriah was sent into battle and was killed brutally on the battlefield causing Bathsheba to lose her husband. Bathsheba married King David and bore their first son and God sent Nathan the prophet to confront King David and he thankfully repented. Him and Bathsheba's baby boy died but they later had another son named Solomon who would later become third king of Israel, wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. King David lost many more children and endured more trauma in his household such as his son Ammon raping Tamar causing that to anger his other son Absalom. Absalom got so bitter and angry over that incident that he murdered his brother Ammon causing King David to lose another son! Absalom finally had enough with his father and decided to set his army against his father David's army causing there to be a civil war in Israel. Then when Absalom went into battle his hair got caught in a tree and Joab, one of King David's men, used his sword and killed Absalom to stop the civil war in Israel! Whew! King David lost three of his sons which I can only imagine how brutal that must have been for him to bury those children. He endured rejection from his family or origin, rejection from King Saul,done wrong by Nabal, endured the kidnapping of his wives and kids along with his army's loved ones, lost his best friend Prince Jonathan in battle, trauma in his household that he started, and endured many natural and internal battles. I can only imagine how emotionally each of these incidents must have affected King David. But he always turned to the Lord in prayer and wrote many Psalms that we Christians enjoy today. Just to name some Psalms he wrote such as Psalms, 1,2,3,23,34,22,51, and 63 just to name several! Many of those Psalms were Psalms my dad would read to me and my siblings when we were little before bed. King David poured his heart to the Lord in prayer and him writing the Psalm helped him process his deep traumas that he had to endure. King David endured alot but the Lord was with them and I don't know what you ladies are facing right now during ''Mental Health Awareness Month''. I pray that the story of King David is a reminder to you ladies that whether you endured rejection, loss of loved ones, betrayal of loved ones, facing consequences to your sin or others sins, emotional challenges knowing that God is with you and will help you through those things. You can be raw and honest with God about your raw emotions to the Lord and let Him meet you there. I love to mention stories of the Bible, especially people who endured alot to show their humanity and how they can relate to us! That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies, happy Tuesday and have a blessed week everyone.