Dora Gideon

NEW MESSAGE

2012-02-17T12:29:00.000Z

NEW MESSAGE IN THE COURTYARD BLOG, FOR YOU ASSISTANT AND COLLABORATOR.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU.

EACH DAY THE SAME?

2012-02-15T08:33:00.000Z

" One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. " ( Rom.14.5 )

This verse shows me that every one thinks differently from each other. Some think that each day can be better than the other day. To be honest, I believe that each day is possible to be better than the day before. Specially because of the great God we have and serve and for whom nothing is impossible.

Others think that, there will be no difference between one day and the other one. This, I believe applies to those who does not believe in the almighty God or have doubts about the God they are serving.

They try to do everything by the strength of their arms, or then with doubts. After some time they get tired, demotivated, disillusioned and then they come to the conclusion that there is no solution anyway for their situation and problems.

For them, each day is seen as the same. That's why sometimes we hear that this and that person committed suicide.

This is exactly the reason why! They believe that each day is the same, that next day for them is going to be as every day, that there is no way out from where they are.

With God it is possible each day to be more profitable than the other one. Start your days by making a prayer in whatever area you are going to work that day. Wherever you have an appointment, make a prayer before going there! Put God in front of everything you are going to do! You will see how God will be with you, how He will bless all and wherever you will place your hands. When you do it with 100% assurance and faith, you will see the fruits of it.

WEEPING AT NIGHT?

2012-02-11T19:23:00.000Z

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." ( Palm 30.5 )

I find this verse very strong! It makes me think that a storm might suddenly appear, but it never stays forever.
I also believe it's so with everything we may be experiencing in our lives, all the struggles, all the difficulties, etc, which sometimes make us feel weak. Often we feel discouraged, many feel like giving up, and sometimes it seems as the person can not breathe because she is so suffocated by the problems.

However, as this verse says, Weeping may endure for a night, and maybe you are or have cried a lot, but know that the storm you are going through in your life will pass and you will smile a lot.

And do you know that when we go through problems and difficulties, we also take advantage of them?

They do strengthen our faith in God, they make us get closer to God, they make us trust more in God, they make us more dependent on God, and they make us more confident of our victory.

Look to your life ... until now you're fighting despite the problems you are facing in your life. I believe that's because you are getting the strength from God, you are trusting and depending more on Him.

CHASING A DREAM

2012-02-07T16:59:00.000Z

There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream. If you want to active a dream, you should expect to find sacrifice too and many times obstacles in your way.

There is no success without sacrifice.

You will find obstacles in your way, but they will only stop you of chasing your dream if you take your eyes off your goal.

You should not let those obstacles crush you. When you have your eyes fixed on your dream, you will never change your mind.

You can never stop chasing your dream because of obstacles. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it

Been someone decisive, idealistic, courageous, determined and persistent, really helps us overcome some of the many obstacles put in our path.

Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms, carry out your plan.

We can see that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.

Many times the biggest obstacle is ourself, when we divert our focus from our goals.

We will always find obstacles in our path while trying to succeed. But anything worth achieving will always have obstacles in the way. That's why we must have drive and determination to overcome those obstacles in our path to whatever it is that you want to accomplish.

If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.

A VERY GOOD FRIENDSHIP

2012-01-28T19:11:00.000Z

We women like to talk, of course we'll always find the ones that are quieter, but in general we are known as great talkers. Even my husband says that the saliva in a women's mouth never finishes.

Especially when we are in a group, we can talk for hours, but even so, when each one goes her way, there is still that little question we forget to ask our friend.

Whenever we find our good friends, we always have something to talk, share and laugh about and not to mention if we hadn't seen each other for weeks, months and even years. We then have even more things to share and talk about!

And do you know the name I give to this? Simply, A VERY GOOD FRIENDSHIP.

Well, so should our friendship be with God. We should have a very good friendship with our Lord. We always should have something to share and talk with Him about as we do with our good friends when we are together, when we meet each other or even need their help.

As we open up our hearts to them expecting them to understand us, listen and advise us, so it must also be with God.

If we consider God as a very good friend who is always there for us when we need Him, who is always willing to give us a hand, to listen to us, who understands us... how can we be quiet and have nothing to say to Him when we are in His presence? Because there should be a conversation with Him then, right?

If we feel cold, not willing or tired to talk to Him, when we should be expressing ourselves to Him, when we are in His presence in other words: When we meet Him , then He is not considered as a good friend to us.

Why not? Because, when good friends meet each other, they always have something to talk about. The reason many don't have anything to talk to Him about is because there is no real friendship/relationship with Him. That's why there is not much to speak to Him about. I'm sure He doesn't only want to be a good friend to us but our best friend, but what about us towards Him?

When we are with our good friends, we have pleasure to speak and share with them what is happening in our lives. We just continue speaking and speaking and words don't lack in our mouths to speak about.

If we consider Him as a very good friend to us, why then is there lacking words to speak to Him about?

SHE WAS KILLED!

2012-01-23T18:38:00.000Z

It's terrible when we hear that someone brutally took away the life of someone else with a bullet, a knife or by another type of murder.

Sometimes the reason why the person committed the crime was so insignificant and not to forget that often they will have to pay for it with a lifetime in jail.

I was thinking about this fact and how many are the times that we've killed people too?

Maybe you are thinking. " I have killed someone? When? Are you crazy! Thank God this never crossed my mind, and it will never cross it! I'm no murderer! I love people so much!"

Well, the majority of us have already killed someone without realizing it, you know how? Just by the simple way of talking to someone with rudeness, by responding to someone's question with arrogance, contempt, impatience and with many other ways that unfortunately do exist!

Most of the times we do not know what this particular person is going through. We get to see the exterior of her but we can not see inside of her.

It may seem that all is well with her because she never talks with anyone about her problems and she is always smiling at you, but only she knows what's going on inside her, what are the thoughts she is constantly having, the daily struggles she is going through which are almost impossible to carry and bare, the many disappointments etc...

Imagine someone in this state, if she approaches us for help? We act immature with our attitude towards her. Instead of us lifting her up, we will end up killing this person because she will end up feeling intimidated and not free to approach us next time for help because she was bleeding so much and didn't get urgent help. Automatically she will end up dying because she lost too much blood!

Words have power to kill or to give life.

GET UNCOMFORTABLE!

2012-01-18T13:54:00.000Z

Today I want to give some small advice to those who want to take another small step to get out of her/his comfort zone.

The funny thing is, it's not that hard to do! You can start with baby steps and learn to love leaving your comfort zone. Once you're willing to do this, your life will have no boundaries. You will accomplish anything you really want to. For many it's seems a hard thing to do because it demands from us courage to break boundaries, it demands willingness to do it, we must get out of our routine, we must go beyond what makes us comfortable, but despite how difficult it seems, it's not impossible to do!

I can speak this for myself because I was someone who was very comfortable in the area of reaching out to others and starting a conversation. I would easily speak with people who I was used to seeing often or that I knew very well, but rarely I would approach someone I just saw for the first time or I almost never saw to speak to.

I would rather wait till the other person would take the first step and approach me to start a conversation or get to know me better. Until I started challenging myself and making the first move and removed out of my dictionary the word Shyness. ( or try not to show or say that I'm a shy person)

It’s common to feel nervous, unsure of yourself, fearful, confused or timid or any other distressing or uncomfortable feelings and sensations. That’s the whole point.We must get uncomfortable!

I must confess that when the moment comes that I have to practice it, the thoughts of " What will you do now?","You are too shy!" "Who are you to do this and that?" "Will I be able to?" All these kinds of thoughts sometimes still go through my mind but I must keep challenging myself and do it anyway, despite how I may feel at the moment or what people may say or think about me.

One thing I've learned with time! The more I keep challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone, the more natural it becomes.

And the benefits that comes with it are:

1. You grow as a person and you feel good about yourself.

2. You feel more confident.

3. You learn something new.

4. You are doing things that most people are not.

5. You move faster towards your goals.

6. You get new opportunities.

7. You get to know other people.

8. People see you differently.

9. You become a happier person.

10. You are not in the routine...

THE 10 MOST READ POSTS OF 2011

2012-01-02T12:50:00.000Z

Here are the 10 most read posts on this blog in 2011. It is worth reading it again or send to a friend:

1. Dora Gideon: FRIENDSHIP

2. Dora Gideon: V-Woman

3. Dora Gideon: COLLEAGUES OF FIGHT

4. Dora Gideon: 3 THINGS YOU MUST TELL YOUR PARENTS

5. Dora Gideon: WAITING TO DIE

6. Dora Gideon: 16 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

7. Dora Gideon: ME AND HIM

8. Dora Gideon: THE FROG RACE STORY

9. 7 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR PARENTS IN THE NEXT 7 DAYS

10. Dora Gideon: MY EXPERIENCE AS A MOTHER: PART 5

I appreciate your frequent visit here. We hope God continue inspiring us to help you much more in 2012!

P.S. Was there a message of this blog that has changed your life? ( Is it up here or not?) I would like to know how and why? Please leave a comment below.

IT'S HIS WILL YOU TO FIND HIM

2011-12-30T11:32:00.000Z

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." ( Matt. 7:7 )

"But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." ( Deut. 4:29 )

"And you, my son ( He is talking to each one of us ), acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever." (1 Chron. 28:9 )

"Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him." (Psalm 32:6 )

"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." ( Rom 8:9 )

"Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5 )

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions" (Joel 2:28,29 )

"Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38,39 )

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5 )

THE POWER

2011-12-20T16:12:00.000Z

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." ( Acts 1:8 )

I was thinking: "But why do I need this power and what is it for?"

I believe that it is not only needed to perform wonders and signs among people but as well in order to resist the struggles, the persecutions, temptations, doubts, discouragement in our faith, injustices... which can appear in our ways so we can remain standing and never look back or fall.

In other words, when we receive the Spirit of God, He tells us: "You are now strong, go ahead because I am with you."

That's why It's important to have the Spirit of God in us, if not one day we can give up our faith and leave God's presence.When a Christian does not have the Holy Spirit, she is comparable to a product which has an expiry date, because sooner or later because of the difficulties, persecutions, doubts and temptations that she will find in her way ( because we will always find them in our ways, but those who have the Spirit of God will always overcome them ) she will eventually give up her faith and end up doing exactly what her enemy, that is the devil, wanted her to do.

That's why we need this power, so we may resist the strong tempests.

"But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." ( Deut.4:29 )

See below how we become when we have the Holy Spirit and that's why we testify of Him through our lives and character to the world because we become different people. Look at the characteristics.

When we receive the Holy Spirit we become:

Someone strong,

Someone confident,

Someone steadfast,

You understand those weak in faith,

You will have eyes of mercy,

You forgive others easily,

You don't keep any resentment,

You are not someone doubtful,

You are someone full of Love in your heart,

You understand others,

You become someone full of Joy, despite the difficulties you may go through,

You have peace inside you,

You become someone patient,

You start caring more about others,

You are faithful to your God,

You are His,...and more and more.

So, it is worth making every effort to have the Holy Spirit.

NEW MESSAGE

2011-12-13T17:57:00.000Z

I just posted a new message in the courtyard.

THE MAN OF MY LIFE

2011-12-12T18:10:00.000Z

I'm not sure if I have mentioned before in any of my blog posts, that when I was much younger I never had the desire to get married!

The reasons that led me to start thinking like that, was that I was afraid to marry someone who would mistreat me after marriage.
I grew up in Holland and one of the most natural things to see in that country, are couples living together for years with grown up children and never getting married.
Growing up watching this, only strengthened my mind and thought even more of one day doing the same.

I thought of living with someone one day, maybe having kids with this person and if things one day didn't go as planned or if he started abusing and mistreating me, the only thing to do would be to leave that person and start my life again with someone else or just raise my children alone; One of most common things seen today, divorced and single mothers raising their children alone.

This was my mindset until I met God. I give thanks to my God that showed me different regarding this subject and He took control of my love life and He gave me,

A man of God who is always by my side,

A man who helps me,

A man who respects me,

A man who understands me,

A man who loves me and cares about me...

Sometimes I wonder: "If I had not married him, how many children would I have had out there today?" Maybe with different fathers or "How many partners would I have known whilst looking for the right one?"

The secret of my happiness in my love life is that I let the voice of God speak louder about my love life. I let Him take control of my love life and He gave me the person I know now for nearly 21 years and married to for about 18 years.
All these years that we've been together, we've grown together, we see many things with the same eyes, and we even think the same way about many things.

Today I can't imagine being far from my love!

NEW MESSAGE

2011-12-09T11:13:00.000Z

I just posted a new message in the Courtyard Blog.

I hope that you can benefit as much as possible from the message.

xxx

NAGGING AND NAGGING

2011-12-07T10:36:00.000Z

In all relationships there will always be moments that one partner disagrees with the other one about something.

First, because we woman are always more sensitive about certain things than men.

Women observe things more than men and therefore often have an opinion to give in general.

What we think could be done with more care, for them is not that necessary and the list just goes on
because we women often want things to be done in a better way and have a different vision about certain things than men do.

However, besides all the opinions and thoughts we might have, we can never let this turn into a problem that can later become an unbearable issue which can lead to divorce.

We can never be that nagging woman who is always complaining about everything. I can tell you that men DON'T like that! Men like to come home and feel peace after a long working day. They want to long to get home and meet their wife waiting for them, without any murmuring about, why this and why that!... That's why there are many husbands who sometimes after work prefer to stay around in the pubs because they want to avoid getting home and find their wife nagging one more day at them.

Men like to get home and give a sigh of relief that says "What a sweet home!" as soon as they enter the front door. They want to feel happy to be home, take off their shoes, sit down on the sofa and ask "what's for dinner?"

It does me good to hear my husband saying "AH...HOME SWEET HOME", when he enters the front door because this means that he is happy to get home, it means that he loves being home with his family and that he feels peace where he lives.

Do you want to have a blessed marriage? Then start cutting out the complaints and nagging, because this is one of the reasons sometimes many husbands stay a long time out of the house, in the pubs and bars with friends.

Often, this gets out of control and leads to betrayal with another woman because he thinks that he can find comfort and what he's not finding at home, in the arms of another woman.

TWO MASTERS

2011-12-05T09:31:00.000Z

If there is one more advice I can give you, is:

For you to be strong in your faith in God, truly believe in the living God you are seeking, have a true encounter with Him and depend in Him in all circumstances.

It's very important for you to know the living God you are seeking and to have a true encounter with Him because at difficult moments, you can rely on your best friends who maybe go to the church and give you a push to go too, but if you did not yet have a true encounter with Him, in other words you don't know yet to walk with your own two legs but you still need someone to give you a hand, one day you can fall.

By this I mean, you can leave God's presence and turn back to the old life where you came from, or start doing the will of this world that is, to live contrary the will of God.

When I came to the church it was my aunt who invited me and my mother to go. First I started going with my mother, if she would go to the church I would go as well and if she didn't go, I wouldn't go as well.

Until months after being in the church, I understood that I had to start building an independent faith in God. There came moments that she didn't want to go and I continued going alone, because I learned to start walking alone in my faith without the help of anyone else.

After some time she and my aunt didn't want to go to the church anymore, but I continued seeking God until today, because I learned that I did not need anyone else but God to be my support.

One day I had to make a choice! If I wanted my salvation, If I wanted to have God in me, if I wanted to please God, Then I had to choose only one master!

I could not remain with one foot in the world and another in the church. I had to choose which master I wanted to serve, because I could not remain serving both of them. Sometimes what makes someone take long to be of God is because the person wants God in her life but she doesn't want to leave behind what is against the will of God.

She wants to remain living according to her own thoughts and her own will, she wants to remain doing whatever she wants and thinks is best, she wants to remain doing whatever her heart tells her to do, she doesn't want to listen to anyone because she knows best.

If we want to have a true encounter with God, if we want to build a true relationship with Him, if we truly want to be of God and if we truly want our salvation then we need to start listening to God's voice, and put into practice what He tells us to do.

NEW BLOG ( IN THE COURTYARD )

2011-11-30T14:06:00.000Z

Dear friends,

I started a new blog today, which is dedicated only for those who do the work of God in the courtyard ( assistants).

Unfortunately, for you to have access to this blog, you must be first authorized.

If you are an assistant and you didn't receive yet an invitation to join this blog and wish to receive the link, please send me an email with your email address and I will let you know if you can join or not as first I must be sure that you are part of the group who are in the courtyard.

Regards,

Dora Gideon

WAITING TO DIE

2011-11-23T14:54:00.000Z

Seeing this picture, if I was close to this child for sure I would chase out this vulture and I would take this child into my arms and I would bring her to a safe place.

I would give her something to eat and to drink, because probably , she is hungry and thirsty,

I would treat her wounds and put a hat on her head to protect her from the hot sun,

I would put some clothes on her to protect her skin from the hot sun,

I would put a pair of sandals on her feet that probably is very chapped from constantly walking barefooted on the ground.

Imagine, I that am a human being, with many faults and mistakes, I feel the desire to take care of this child as if she were my own child, then imagine God?

GIVEN NO CHOICE?

2011-11-22T15:24:00.000Z

No one wants to be oppressed or obliged by anyone to do anything.

We all want to have the choice to think before taking any decision, to do things according to our abilities, and I'm sure we all want to have the choice if we want to do it or not, right?

I believe that when this option is given to us, whatever we are going to do or is asked from us, it will be done the best way because it's our choice and it's coming from our free will.

I can tell you that, this does not do good to anyone.

Let's look at some symptoms of when someone is being put under pressure and is obliged to do something:

The person will never do it whole heartedly, or with pleasure but,

she will not do it right,

she will not do it with pleasure,

she will do it anyhow,

she will not deliver the work she was asked to do on time,

She will be murmuring all the time about what you gave her to do,

she will not see it as important,

the work asked her to be done does not flowish in her hands,

and the list goes on...

But why all this reaction? Simple! Because it was not GIVEN AS AN OPTION to the person to decide if she wanted or not to take that responsibility, but it was given to her without the option to choose.

In this case I believe it's better the person is honest and says I'm not willing to do this, I have too much to do at the moment, I don't want to take this responsibility at the moment, I don't like doing this ... Than to do it anyhow or not at all.

THREE PIECES OF ADVICE

2011-11-19T18:26:00.000Z

A young couple newly married, were very poor and lived in a place by favour outside the city. ONE DAY THE HUSBAND MADE THE FOLLOWING PROPOSAL TO HIS WIFE:

"Darling I'll leave home, I will travel far to get a job and work to be able to come back and give you a more dignified and comfortable life. I do not know how long I'll stay away, I only ask you one thing. Wait for me and be faithful to me while I'm gone, because I will be faithful to you too."

And so, the young man left. He walked many days on foot, until he met a farmer who needed someone to help him on his farm.
The young man came and offered to work there and he was accepted. He asked the boss to make a pact with him, which was also accepted.

The pact was as follows;
"Let me work for as long as I want and when I decide to go, you release me from my obligations.
I DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE MY SALARY EACH MONTH. I ask that you save it up for when I decide to leave.
The day I leave you, you give me my money and I will go my way. "
(For him to make this request to his boss it's because he had the courage to sacrifice as well. And the same happened with us when we arrived at the church, full of demands to God.)

Both of them agreed to the pact.
That young man worked for twenty years, without holiday and without rest.
After twenty years, he came to his boss and said: "Sir I want my money because I am returning to my home."

And the boss said to him.
"Alright, after all, we made a pact and I will stick to it but first I want to make you a deal. Okay?
I'll give you your money and you will go away, or I'll give you three pieces of Advice and not give you your money and you go away.
If I give you your money, I do not give you the advice but if I give you the advice, I will not give you the money.
Go to your room, think about it and after give me an answer."

(His boss wanted him to make a wise and conscious decision and so does God, because He never wants us to do anything out of emotion.)
He then thought for two days. After he sought his boss and told him: "I want the advice."
The boss stressed again, "If I give you the advice, I will not give you the money." And the employee; said. "I want the advice." ( With other words, I AM READY TO SACRIFICE )

The boss then told him the three pieces of advice:
1 DON'T EVER take a shortcut in your LIFE. Shortest unknown paths can cost your life. (Always take the path of sacrifice)

2 DON'T EVER be curious about what is evil. For curiosity for evil can be deadly.

3 NEVER TAKE DECISIONS IN MOMENTS OF HATE OR PAIN, because you may regret it although it's too late.

After giving the advice, the boss told the boy that was not young anymore:

"Here you have three loaves, these two are for you to eat during the trip and this third eat it with your wife when you get home.

The man then made his way back after twenty years away from home and the wife he loved.

After the first day's journey, he found someone on the way who greeted him and asked where he was going.

He replied: "I'm going to a far away place that is more than twenty days' journey on this road."

The person then told him: "Friend, this way is too far, I know a shortcut and you will get there in a few days."

The man was happy to hear that, and he began to follow that road, soon after he remembered the first advice. He then turned and followed the normal path.

Days later he came to know that, that road led to a trap.

After a few days of traveling and being very tired, he found a pension by the roadside, where he could stay.

After he had Paid his stay, he went to the room, he took a shower and laid down to sleep.

Early in the morning he woke up with a loud scream. He rose up and dressed to open the door to go to the location of the scream.
When he was opening the door, he remembered the second advice.

He than returned to bed,lay down and slept.
In the morning, after breakfast, the owner of the host asked him if he had not heard screams during the night, and he said yes.
The host asked him if he was not curious to know what it was, and he said no.
The host continued: "YOU ARE THE FIRST ONE WHO IS LIVING HERE ALIVE, because my son has madness crisis, he cries at night ... and when the guest leaves his room, he kills and bury him in the backyard."

The boy continued his long journey, anxious to get home.
After many days and nights of walking and already being evening, he could see his house and the silhouette of his wife from a distance.It was dark, but he could see that she was not alone.He walked a little further and saw that she had between her legs a man who was stroking her hair.
When he saw that scene, his heart was filled with hatred and bitterness and he wanted to go against the two and kill them without any mercy.

He took a deep breath, walked fast toward them: but than he remembered the third advice.
He then stopped and decided to take a decision the next day.
Early in the morning, already calmed down, he thought, "I WILL NOT KILL MY WIFE AND HER LOVER.
I'm going back to my boss and will ask him to take me back.
But before that, I must tell my wife that I was always FAITHFUL TO HER. "
He went to the front door and knocked.
When the wife opened the door and recognized him, she threw herself onto his neck and embraced him warmly.
He tried to push her away, but could not. Then, with tears in his eyes he told her: "I was faithful to you and you betrayed me ..."

She amazed replied: "How? I never betrayed you, I have been waiting for you these twenty years!
He then asked, "And the man who was stroking you yesterday evening?
She then said: "THAT MAN IS OUR SON. When you left, I discovered that I was pregnant. Today he is twenty years old."
Then her husband hugged his son and told them all what had happened , while his wife was preparing the breakfast.
They sat down for breakfast to eat together the last bread.

After a prayer of thanksgiving, with tears of emotion, he broke the bread, and when he open it, he found all the money that he was paid for the twenty years of work and dedication!

The lesson of this story is: The boss never wanted to keep his money. God is the owner of all the gold and all silver. We must know where our heart is and in whom we are depending? On God or on the materials things?

That boss wanted to teach him that, it is good to have money, but it does not resolve everything.
He only received the advice because he sacrificed what he had. If he didn't let go of what he had, he would not have received the advice.

God is here telling us that whatever we sacrifice, sooner or later it will come back to us, but than with a difference, He will give it back to us in double.

Bp. Guaracy

ATTENTIVENESS

2011-11-18T11:01:00.000Z

I was thinking about the little things that often make a big difference in our lives, that make us see certain people with different eyes, which makes us gain more respect and admiration and consideration for them.

What sometimes takes for this to happen is just a small gesture of "thank you very much!"

You know, I remember on one occasion some years ago someone sending me an email and I never answered her email back even just to say thank you for you email.

Even though it was something that happened innocently, this person after months told me how hurt she felt by me not answering her email, even though that email she sent me was not to ask for help, but just to say that she was outside the country and she was doing well.

By me not answering her email just to say: Thank you for letting me know! She felt as though I didn't appreciate her, that she wasn't important, and I didn't give any credit to her. With this I learned that people love to get a feedback from you, love to see that you are there for them, maybe just to say OK, or GOD BLESS YOU, or THANK YOU, those little phrases that will not take much of our time to consider that person.

It was something that marked me forever for not to happen again. But I had to make this mistake in order to learn to do better at other times.
With this I learned to be more attentive regarding this aspect. I've learned that people love to be appreciated and valued and this can be with just a small gesture, such as: Hi, How are you, Thank you, a smile, when you respond their emails maybe just to say thank you.

Another thing I learned from this is that most people consider you more, admire you more, respect you more, value you more and not to forget that the person will for sure send you next time another email because she knows she will get a feedback from you.

For it's by giving that we will receive, right?

WHICH SON ARE YOU?

2011-11-10T19:37:00.000Z

"For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light." Luke 16:8

I was reading this passage and I thought;
"Why is it that when many people come to God, instead of becoming bolder to go and fight for what they want to see in their lives, they don't?"
They don't knock down the doors which are closed in their lives with more boldness than they used to, before having God by their side. In fact, they stop using the same energy, courage and strength they had previously.

The problem is that many start relying and giving everything that they should do into God's hands.

They stop being that person who didn't take "NO" for an answer before and would keep on knocking all the doors until they find one open.

By this, I do not mean, that person who used to do evil to conquer a better place in her work place, lie about another colleague to get her work position, or deceive others so they can have a better life etc.

I mean, maybe you used to be someone who would never take "NO" for an answer, if one door was closed you would fight until you find another door open. You were someone with the spirit of determination, whatever people would say about you, you wouldn't even care, you would just look towards your goal because the victory was already written inside your heart...

Many after they started coming to the church, they became too passive in the sense of fighting for what is their right, to fight for a better life, to have the same spirit of never giving up even if they hear many "No's" as before, many start giving everything in God's hands or say that God will Bless one day!

My vision is: If now that you have God at your side, why shouldn't your life be better than before? Why should you ever give up? Remember the old widow who used to knock at the judge's door EVERY DAY? She got the answer after many knocks, right? Why don't you finish what you started some months ago now that you have God with you?

Maybe it's your driving license that you tried to get many years ago. But because you failed the driving test twice, now you don't want to spend more money to pay for the exam again after all the money that you've already spent on the driving lessons.

God said:
"Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the western Sea, shall be your territory." Deut. 11:24

Go and do what you have to do, because God is with you!

THE SECRET TO SUCCESS

2011-11-09T15:35:00.000Z

1= Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.

2= In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time.

3= Self-trust is the first secret of success.

4= In order to succeed, your desire for success

should be greater than your fear of failure.

5= If you can dream it, you can do it.

6= To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first.

7= Success seems to be connected with action.

Successful people keep moving.

They make mistakes, but they don't quit.

8= Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

9= Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.

10= The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.

11= Life's a real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when

you gave up.

12= Your focus determines your reality.

13= Success is a journey, not a destination.

14= Successful leaders have the courage to have action, while others hesitate.

15= If at first you don't succeed just remember you can do it, and keep following your dream.

Helpful Tips On Preventing Hair Loss

2011-11-07T09:41:00.000Z

First and most importantly eat a healthy balanced diet. Your hair needs nutrition to grow and be healthy. Try to eat a diet rich in vitamins and minerals. If this is not possible, take a good multivitamin everyday that can provide you with the required daily allowance of vitamins and minerals.

Get plenty of exercise and plenty of sleep. Exercise increases the blood flow to every part of your body, including your scalp.

Increased blood flow can nourish the hair follicles and keep them strong and healthy. Your whole body, including your scalp and hair needs rest to rejuvenate, so try to get at least eight hours of restful sleep each night.

Avoid hair treatments that can damage your hair. Frequent dyeing, hot curling irons, blow dryers, perms and frequent brushing or combing can all do damage to your hair and result in hair loss. Be gentle on your hair, using a soft bristled brush and letting it air dry whenever possible. Avoid vigorous combing when your hair is wet. It is more prone to breakage at this time.

If you notice excessive hair loss, see your doctor right away. Hair loss can be a sign of an underlying disease that needs treatment. Autoimmune diseases such as lupus can cause hair loss. Also disorders of the endocrine system, such as diabetes may cause you to lose your hair. Any type of hormone imbalance can be a big factor in hair loss also. It is important to find the cause of your hair loss and get treatment to prevent further hair loss and damage to other body organs.

Certain medications can cause hair loss. Talk with your doctor about your medicines and ask about the possibility of them causing your hair to fall out. You may be able to change to another medication that has less of a risk of causing hair loss.

There are a number of myths out there about hair loss. Here are a few of them:

- Wearing a hat will cause hair loss. While it may be true that a lot of bald men may wear a hat to cover their thinning hair, a hat in no way caused their hair to fall out.

If wearing a hat caused baldness, everyone in the national baseball league would be bald!

- Standing on your head can prevent baldness. This has never been proven to be true. But if you like to stand on your head, go for it!

- Hair loss in females means that you are not a proper woman with two X chromosomes. This is crazy because hair loss has nothing to do with chromosomes but has everything to do with hormones.

- Hair loss in women is a sign of an overactive brain. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to back this statement up.

Hair loss can be upsetting at any age. Do your best to stay healthy and follow the above tips for preventing hair loss.

THE RACE

2011-11-06T17:33:00.000Z

This video is too strong!
It shows me a spirit of determination when everything seemed already lost for her.
It shows me a desire to win.
She didn't see any obstacle through her fall.
She showed me an example of never giving in difficult moments.

Well, see it for yourself!!

LOOKING AHEAD

2011-11-02T12:20:00.001Z

Let your faith, hope, confidence and perseverance shape your future and not the bad words that someone told you, or bad feelings and pains of the past.

This is the advice I can give you if you are someone who is always thinking about your past or thinking of those negative words of defeat that someone once told you.

Maybe years have passed, you've lived beautiful moments in your life since then. I even believe you've gone through interesting experiences which have marked your life and will forever.

But those words that someone one day told you never leave your memory!

Day in and day out they are there in your memory hammering your mind saying, "I'm here, I'm part of you, I am part of your life!"

Well, living in the past doesn't let you take a step forward. I don't like to live in the past and think of the bad experiences I've been through. This is because it only brings down your high self-esteem and holds your life back.

Actually, I feel very bad, without peace and I feel restless, when I think about the bad resentments. That's why I do not like to think of the bad things I have gone through.

Think with me, how can we let God speak and show us the way we have to go? How can we plan ahead if our thoughts are busy with other things? How can we make projects if our mind is full of other thoughts?

The solution is to use our faith and look forward.

Trust the One who can bring the solution at difficult moments, that is our Lord Jesus.

Leave the bad feelings aside because they only impede us from looking forward and seeing what is expected from us ahead.

POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE?

2011-10-28T15:09:00.000+01:00

Today I wanted to write about positive and negative people.

Unfortunately no one can count on negative people, because when their opinion is asked, their response can destroy our spirit, and plans.

They are always lamenting life, complaining for everything and are always pessimistic.

The negative person creates negative energy and no one can stay close, especially those who have a goal and want to succeed in life!

And have you ever noticed that positive people, even where there is no solution they always find a way out and a solution?
They always look forward and never give up. Even when they keep hearing "NO!"
They believe that ONE DAY they will hear "YES!"
They have this spirit of perseverance, and determination, which I admire and love seeing in people.

Look at the contrast in this short list down here!

The positive person always finds a solution;
The negative person always finds problems.

The positive person always has a plan;
The negative person always has an excuse.

The positive person always wants to help others;
The negative person always says, "this is not my job".

The positive person always sees a solution to every problem;
The negative person always sees a problem in every answer.

The positive person always sees a light in the darkness;
The negative person always sees in the midst of darkness light.

The positive person says: "it is difficult but possible";
The negative person say: "it may be possible but it's very difficult".

The positive person says: "I Can and I Will !".
The negative person says: "I'll never reach that in my life !".

The positive person says: "God is with me, I can do it!".
The negative person says "Nobody likes me, everybody is against me".

The positive person says: "It didn't work this time but it will next time!
The negative person says: "I'm a real loser, I can do nothing right!"

The positive person keeps trying until it works.
The negative person gives up the first time.

THE BUTTERFLY

2011-10-17T16:13:00.000+01:00

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours, as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body.
Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around.
It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening
was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We will not be as strong as we could have been and we would never fly.

WHEN WE BELIEVE

2011-10-12T13:31:00.000+01:00

I'm still getting used to the new city, house and church. However despite all of this I'm in faith to see God's hands stretched out to bless the people here in Birmingham.

I went to evangelize in the market on Saturday and I was surprised to see the people accepting the invitations to come to the church wholeheartedly. I see this city has a big potential to grow and I'm sure it will. I'm embracing this new challenge with all my heart and I'm happy to be here.

I always say and believe: God always honors the work of the hands of those who do it wholeheartedly, with pleasure, and love, especially when it's for Him.

Human beings are always complaining when obstacles arrive their way, when things are not going according to how we like or planned or have prayed for.

Most of the time we even complain to God about things not going according to how we planned or because we didn't see the answer to our prayers at the exact moment we planned or prayed for.

One big example is when He delivered His people from Egypt, from slavery, but even so they doubted God, even after seeing so many miracles and signs.

To be honest, if we believe in the prayer we make to God, if we believe that God does exist, if we believe that for Him nothing is impossible, why then should we doubt? Almost every day we put God to the test, so why shouldn't He put us to the test once in a while as well to see if we really trust and believe in Him?

When we don't see obstacles or even put obstacles before what God has trusted in our hands, when we don't doubt God, then He will always go before us to make a way.

God in looking for people who trust and believe in Him, and for those who are not negative but bold to face any challenge that may appear before them because they know that it's one more testimony they will give after the victory.

When we believe in Him, we put 100% in all we do.

By doing this, who can impede us to see the result? We can't be complaining about the circumstances that appear before us, because we don't know if we are being put to the test by Him for bigger things. By this I do not mean diseases or other kind of similar problems.

He just wants us to believe. That's it! But sometimes it is us that make the simple things difficult!

NEW CHALLENGE

2011-10-03T10:45:00.000+01:00

As I promised everyone I would give more details about the new challenge, here it goes:

We are here in England for over 5 years and all this time we have always worked in the London area.

We have Been in Brixton, Stamford Hill, Finsbury Park and Catford.

Well, today we are leaving Catford and we are going to Bullring ( Birmingham ) where we are going to start our new challenge and to be honest I can't wait because I love challenges. It renews you and it keeps you in faith.

I'm sure God has big planes for this area and He is counting with us there to help those who are suffering.

I will keep you informed about this new challenge here in my blog. Please pray for us and for that area.

A GOOD WOMAN PART 3

2011-09-29T09:32:00.000+01:00

A woman's heart should be so lost in God,
that a man needs to seek Him in order to find her.

Why do women stare at other women?

Because something good draws her attention to her.

There are few woman who know how to hold a man;

And to those who succeed, this man will never want to leave her ties.

A good woman only feels really happy when she makes someone else happy too.

A good woman always knows how to measure her words;

like sugar in the coffee never to much or less but at the right measurement.

A good woman never forgets the good someone did to her;

In return she includes her name in her daily prayers.

A good woman never judges others by their mistakes;

She knows that she can commit the same ones.

A good woman is strong;

She is not weak- minded;

She always believes in herself especially in hard moments.

A good woman doesn't waste her time with unnecessary affairs;

She knows that her time is precious.

A good woman is strong;

People can put her down but she is always remains standing;

That's because she is deeply-rooted in the Lord.

NEW CHALLENGE

2011-09-23T09:52:00.000+01:00

Guys a new challenge appeared to me yesterday which I'm looking forward to it.

On Monday I will give you more details about it. I can't wait to start it! :-)

Watch this space on Monday.

A GOOD WOMAN PART 2

2011-09-18T22:25:00.000+01:00

A good woman is dynamic;

She thinks ahead;

She plans ahead;

She is creative;

She is energetic;

She is vibrant;

She is full of life;

She is active;

She is full of enthusiasm;

She has purpose in life;

She is able to get things going and get things done.

A woman is like a beautiful rose.

She should be treated with kindness,

care, affection, attention, and with much love.

What man wouldn't give his entire fortune for a woman?

He who, after much searching, finds a Virtuous woman.

Which man isn't calmed by sweet, soft and kind words?

Only the wise and virtuous woman knows to do this.

The good woman is the one who knows how to forgive those who did her evil and brought damage to her life;

She finds space in her heart to forgive them and she includes their names in her daily prayers.

Why do men say that women talk too much?

Because we have to repeat everything we say so they may understand us.

They say that men are stronger than women;

But I doubt there is any man who could go through the pain of childbirth.

A good woman always has her hands open to help any one,

even those who don't appreciate her.

A good woman loves giving;

She expects nothing in return because she knows God will repay her double.

A woman with discretion is elegant,

different, beautiful, wise and virtuous.

A GOOD WOMAN

2011-09-05T19:09:00.000+01:00

A good woman inspires a man;

A brilliant woman interests him;

A beautiful woman fascinates him;

A sympathetic woman gets him.

A wise woman puts a grain of sugar into everything she says to a man, and takes a grain of salt with everything he says to her.

Wherever you find a great man, you will find a great mother or a great wife standing behind him. It would be interesting to know how many great women have had great fathers and husbands behind them.

Woman was taken out of man; not out of his head to top him, nor out of his feet to be trampled underfoot;

but out of his side to be equal to him,

under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved.

Woman always worry about the things that men forget;

men always worry about the things woman remember.

A woman should soften but not weaken a man.

Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.

You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.

A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water.

A Woman should be two things: classy and fabulous.

In politics, If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.

Women only nag when they feel unappreciated.

THE BEAUTIES FROM CATFORD

2011-08-29T23:17:00.000+01:00

MY SON AND DAUGHTER.

2011-08-28T22:43:00.000+01:00

MY SON AND DAUGHTER.

THE THREE TREES

2011-08-26T18:19:00.000+01:00

There was on top of a mountain three trees.

They dreamt of what they would become later. The first, looking at the stars said:" I want to be the most precious chest of the world and live full of treasures."

The second, watching at the water stream sighed and said: " I want to be a very large ship to transport kings and queens."

The third looked up and said:" I want to grow and stay here on the mountain, I want to grow so much that when people look at me, they will raise their eyes and think of God"

Many years passed and the trees grew. Then there appeared three woodcutters who, without knowing the dream of the trees, cut them down. The first tree was transformed into a trough for animals, covered with hay.

The second turned into a fishing boat carrying people and fish every day.

The third was cut into beams and left on a deposit.

Disillusioned the three trees lamented their fate.

But one night, with the sky filled with stars, a young woman placed her newborn baby at the trough. Suddenly, the tree knew that it contained the world's greatest treasure.

One day the second tree carried a man who ended up sleeping on the boat. When a storm nearly sank the boat, the man stood up and calmed the waters, then the tree that got turned into a boat understood that he was carrying the king of heaven and earth.

Some time later, on a Friday, the tree was startled when the beams were joined together to form a cross and a man was nailed to it.

The tree felt horrible seeing the suffering of this man. However, soon he realized that this man had saved mankind and people would remember God by just looking at the cross.

The example of the trees is a sign that we need to dream and have faith ALWAYS!

THE STAGE PART 2

2011-08-24T14:35:00.000+01:00

And there are those who think further.

They get to the stage of SEEKING THE SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS!

They don't want to remain in the church stuck in the "material blessing" stage. For them the material blessings are important, YES! But that is not all for them!

They want more! And this "more" that they want is in their spiritual lives.

When they hear about salvation they want that!

When they hear about hell, they don't want to go there!

When they hear about leaving sin, they sacrifice their own will to please God!

When they hear that the father of lies is the devil, they stop lying, because they don't want to be his son!

When they hear about baptism in water, they want to bury their old lives and start a new one with Christ!

Daily they desire to change and become a new and better person!

And we can see that most of those who are more focused on their spiritual lives are those who are quickly answered by God, sometimes even without asking for the blessing needed at that moment.

That's because God said in His words. SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS WILL BE ADDED ON TO YOU!

Why does God answer these ones quicker than those who are in the church only for the material blessings and nothing more? Because these ones are the ones that the seed fell on the good ground!

Having heard the word with a noble and good heart, they kept it and bore fruit with patience. It will not be the blessings that she receives that will make her leave the presence of God. For the most important thing for her is her salvation.

THE STAGE PART 1

2011-08-23T14:57:00.001+01:00

I was thinking why there are many people who just arrive in the church and not long after, they start seeing progress and changes in their lives? In addition, the change that I mean is in their character, it's inside them, together with the material blessings that they achieve in other areas of their lives.

On the other hand, why are there many others who came to the church at the same time as the others ones, who came to the church together with you, but today are no longer in the presence of God, but you are strong in your faith with God, and blessed in many areas of your life?

Maybe you are reading this and you are even remembering a close friend or a family member who came to the church at the same time or day as you, but today she is no longer in the presence of God.

The Holy Spirit showed me, that one of the reasons why this happens is because of the fact that when most of us came to the church, we came in the stage of SEEKING THE MATERIAL BLESSINGS. And there are many who unfortunately until today are stuck in this stage.

The only thing they are concerned about or that is bringing them until today to the church, to attend a church service or even to do a chain of prayer is to achieve that blessing that motivated her to come to the church.

We know that as soon as this person receives this blessing, she will leave the presence of God, because there is nothing more that will make her continue coming to the church because she achieved what she most wanted, that blessing!

That's why I believe, God sometimes takes long to answer some people, so whilst they are fighting for that blessing, He can mold their hearts and thoughts, for them to see that there is something bigger than the material blessing to fight for, which is the most important, salvation!

TO BE CONTINUED...

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

2011-08-13T23:49:00.000+01:00

This is what we all should do.
Do everything that is in our power to save those who are lost and are going to hell!
How far would you go?

USING THE INTELLIGENCE

2011-08-08T20:42:00.000+01:00

I was meditating on the word intelligence that means intellectual capacity to grasp and understand things. It's the brain’s function, and it allows someone to solve problems and even create solutions of great value. We can clearly see that wisdom has multiplied over the years by today’s technology that is totally different from some years ago.

This can appear too hard or impossible to achieve, but with God it is possible. God said in His words that there has not been anyone like Solomon, nor shall any like him arise after him but even so I still ask God for some of the wisdom He gave to Solomon, to be upon me everyday in my daily prayers.

It's written “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened “(Matt 7:8) and I do not see anything wrong with asking, so I do ask.

Every day I ask wisdom from Him, so I can know how to act accordingly to His will, use my intelligence to solve problems, and know how to talk.

I will not say that from the day I started asking God for wisdom for me to be able to use my intelligence that I have never acted inappropriately

Well, I must confess that I've reacted without thinking and without using my intelligence and I then grieved the Holy Spirit and even myself.

So, I think we have to use our intelligence and have the mind of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, having intelligence, wisdom and the mind of Christ, will we not be ...

Better wives?

Better husbands?

Better friends?
Better partners?

Better mothers?
Better fathers?
Better sons / daughters?
Better sisters / brothers?
Better workers?
A better boss?
Better students?
And the list goes on ...

I believe that it is possible.

WILL YOU LISTEN TO HIM?

2011-07-29T09:34:00.000+01:00

Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

And the devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." (The devil will always try to tempt us in our weak moments, moments that we pass through any difficulty, hard time, so we can listen to him, obey and practice his will).

But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give you, and their glory; for this had been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours". (The will of the devil is that we worship him, that's why he will always try to show us the beauty and colors of this world to distract us from the things of God and for us to never put Gods word into practice, and give our lives to God. Especially the youth, because the youth of today are the future of tomorrow and from many of the youth man and woman of God can be raised who one day can bring the Gospel to those who are suffering.)

And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!" For it is written, You shall worship the Lord Your God, and Him only you shall serve." (And so we have to do with the devil always, when he tries to tempt us. That’s why it’s important of have the spirit of discernment, because he sometimes uses the most beautiful words and sometimes he even uses the ones we love the most so we can fall into his traps).

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ' he shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone." (The devil even tries using the word of God to mislead us so we can do his will thinking that we are doing the will of God. That's why it is important for us to always read the word of God so we may know the word of God and always have an answer to give to our adversary.

We should always desire to receive and have the Holy Spirit inside us and not to forget to have the discernment of spirit, so when we are tempted, we may have the condition to resist the devil!)

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God." Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (The devil will never stop to try to tempt us, if he does not succeed today, he will try tomorrow.) (Luke 4:1-13)

HE MADE US PERFECT

2011-07-20T13:33:00.000+01:00

I was thinking of the perfect body that God gave us when He created man.

The beautiful mouth to praise Him every day,

The beautiful eyes to see things as He sees them so our entire lives can always be illuminated.

He gave us a heart according to Him and of course not to forget the other organs and parts of our body that he made to function perfectly together.

Unfortunately over the years, the evil has been taking opportunities to use many parts of this perfect body God one day created to serve Him for the use of evil.

One of the parts he especially wants to use is the heart. As the Bible say " For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." ( Matt 15:19 )

If there is something that we should keep every day, it is our heart, because the devil with his great patience has been trying to live inside it and has been trying to build up small and big altars for him. In addition, when we are building altars to the devil, we are failing to automatically build altars to God.

And some of these altars are:

A small lie here and another there that are usually seen as insignificant.

Today a small grudge because someone said something to you that you did not like.

Tomorrow, a bad feeling in the heart because someone passed you by without greeting you.

A bad thought that many times does not stay as a simple thought but is put into action... and the list goes on because he keeps on creating ways.

"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38 )

CHASING OUR PROBLEMS

2011-07-15T16:17:00.000+01:00

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. That you may be sons of your Father in heaven." ( Mat. 5.44,45 )

I was thinking about these verses, which are very strong. When God has a big plan for our lives, especially many of us who are taking part in this campaign and are putting our blood on the altar, and are making the real sacrifice for the total transformation of our lives, we see that the devil gets unsatisfied with that because he knows that for sure the answer from God is coming so he seeks ways for us not to get to our blessings which God has already prepared for us when we make the real sacrifice that God expects from us so he can make a total change in our lives.

He starts using friends to discourage or bring negative words about what we are about to do, so we can give up.

He uses family members and close friends to rise up against you and they start seeing you as an enemy and even lie about you and about your faith. (One of the things I HATE, is when people LIE about something you didn't do, just to make you look bad in front of others) But the devil makes a way for this to happen so you can start having bad eyes and keep grudges against them and get distracted from your goal. But I'm sure, this all happens because God is planning something great for your life, and the devil is unhappy with that.

Suddenly, there is someone in the family who gets very ill so you can touch the sacrifice you had already promised to give to God. As a consequence, we then give a blemished or defected sacrifice to the Lord which is an abomination to Him.

And there are many other things that the devil creates for us never to reach where God wants us to reach.

Let's bring the real sacrifice to God on the altar, as He will be there on the altar as well to hand us that blessing we have asked for, straight after we place the sacrifice on the altar.

Let’s chase our enemies (problems) and they shall fall by the sword before us. (Lev. 26:8)

THE SIGNS OF MY BLESSINGS

2011-07-11T15:36:00.000+01:00

Friends, I don't know if you actually read the blog post about my sacrifice.

Well, as I wrote there: when God showed me what my sacrifice would be, first it hurt me, but soon after He showed me what He would do in my life if I sacrificed what was of great value to me for Him.

I'm very happy because I started to see strong signs about what He showed me that day I climbed the altar to make my wow with Him.

I can assure you that it's something of much more value than what I presented to Him on the altar.

What a wonderful God is He! Also this is only the beginning of what He promised to do for me!

Watch this space, as I will be posting more about the blessings already coming towards my life.

THE PAIN OF MY SACRIFICE

2011-07-07T18:28:00.000+01:00

“And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb.”

(Sam.1: 4-5)

I see here that Hannah had a problem where she was unable to bear children for her husband. However, she got used to the situation and the idea of not being able to give children to her husband.

I wonder how God could have ever stretched out His hands to her direction, to take her out of that humiliation, if she had never revolted to create her own sacrifice and present it to God on behalf of her problem. God could only answer her the day she created her own sacrifice and presented it to Him.

You know, I've been married for 17 years, and in these 17 years my husband and I have always done purposes of fasting together, got up in the middle of the night to pray together, practically in almost everything he is involved in, I’ve always wanted to be included and live the same faith as him.

BUT, there's something I’ve always wanted to do independently. That is, to be able to create my own sacrifice to present to my Lord on the altar.

The reason is, I want to feel the pain of being able to create my own sacrifice. I want my faith to always have works. I never want to become dependent on my husband's sacrifices made for me.

I want to go on the altar knowing that I am going to present something to my God that cost me to build up and after leave the altar with the certainty of the answer.

Also, he may be sacrificing for one aim and I another.

MY SACRIFICE

2011-07-06T11:56:00.000+01:00

Soon after the pastor had explained what real sacrifice means, he called those who wanted to participate.
I was just in front of the altar stairs and I did not miss the opportunity to be the first to climb the stairs of the altar and make my vow with God.

The experiences that I have had since God called me to climb the altar and sacrifice:

1 = He showed me my perfect sacrifice that I should submit to Him. Oh, that pain when he showed me what I should sacrifice!

2 = I tried to resist a little at first, but straight after He showed me in a blink of an eye what He would do in my life after my sacrifice.

3 = I did not think twice after. I was the first to climb the altar and make the vow with Him with tears in my eyes.

4 = I felt a very strong assurance that He had called me to sacrifice.

5 = After descending the altar, I was sure of the victory in my hands and to be honest I am already seeing signs!

6 = I have no doubt of my answer, so I'm in peace and even going the extra mile for it to be more painful because the blessing for sure will be even greater.

7 = I'm there! And I got it!

THE INVITATION

2011-06-29T16:06:00.000+01:00

Have you ever found yourself looking through the window of your house/flat, at the street observing what is happening? Maybe this happened to be on one of the days you were feeling very calm, everything was going well, you had no worries or problems in your mind, your heart was peaceful, and you were very happy that day?

Perhaps you are reading all this and you are saying, "How absurd! In this world full of problems, how can I have a life as she is describing? I can only find a life like this in heaven!

Well my friend, I have good news for you. Though, we live in a world so wicked, full of crime, selfishness, problems, and everything else we see around us, believe me, God is watching us and wants to give us a blessed and peaceful life.

A life that you can not imagine exists or that someone is able to have.
The problem is that He is calling everyone to have it, but unfortunately there are only a few who want to achieve it, as the rest don't want anything to do with Him.

I can say this for myself. Despite all struggles that I find in my ways, I can still find peace, joy, strength, love, and more ... because of Him, who I have in my life.

You who don't have Him yet, if you only knew how GOOD it is to have Jesus in your life! If you only knew how GOOD it is to have the presence of God in you!

I really hope that one day you may give God the opportunity to show you how good He is and wants to be for you.

Normally every Saturday I go to evangelize and many times when I try to give invitations to people, many sometimes don't accept the invitation and there are others who are very rude towards me.

When this happens, the only thing that crosses my mind is this: "OH, IF SHE ONLY KNEW WHAT SHE IS DESPISING; IF SHE ONLY KNEW WHAT SHE IS THROWING AWAY!"

THE FLOWER

2011-06-20T14:22:00.000+01:00

There was a very rich young lady who had everything: a wonderful husband, perfect children, a job that earned very well, and a united family.

The strangest thing was that she could not reconcile all of this! Her work and the things she had to do occupied all her time and her life was not well in some areas. If her work took too much of her time, she then spent less time with her children. If problems arose, she would put aside her husband ... And so, she always left the people she loved the most for later.

Until one day, her father, a very wise man, gave her a present: a very expensive and rare flower, which was the only one in the whole world.

He said: “Daughter, this flower will help you much more than you think! You have only to water it and prune it from time to time, sometimes you may have a little chat with her, and in exchange she will give a nice fragrance and wonderful flowers. The young lady was thrilled, because the flower was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen before.

As the time past by, problems arose, work consumed all her time and her life, and didn't allow her to take care of the flower. She would come home, look at the flower and the flowers were still there. They didn't show any sign of weakness or death. They were just there, beautiful, and very perfumed. She would just pass by.

Until one day, without warning, when she came home the flower was dead. The roots were completely dead. The flowers had fallen and the leaves were yellow. The young lady wept a lot and told her father what had happened. Her father then said: “I imagined this would happen, and I can not give you another flower, because there isn’t any other like it, as it was unique ... Just like your children, your husband and your family.

They are all blessings that the Lord gave you, but you have to learn to water them, prune them and give them attention, like the flower, the feelings also die. You get used to seeing the flower always there, always fragrant, and you forget to take care of it.

Don't forget to take care of the people you love!

THE STORY OF THE AMBITIOUS YOUNG MAN

2011-06-17T17:46:00.000+01:00

An ambitious young man was admitted to A company.

As he had many skills, he decided to find out what was the sector that would give better conditions to build a career faster. And he asked this question the financial manager. "Finance, of course," replied the manager, "because, after all, a company exists to generate and manage money."

Then the young man asked the sales manager, what was the most important sector. "Sales, of course," replied the manager, "because it alone brings resources into the company." The young man wrote down the answer and went to the human resources manager. He said that a company stands on the talent and motivation, and therefore human resources was the most important sector.

But the IT manager had another vision, and the young man explained that the technology is increasingly replacing people with advantages. "Very soon, no doubt, companies will be controlled by computer professionals."

Since the marketing manager explained that maketing creates the desire to purchase, and it is triggered by the most important sector. The manager explained that their industry was more important because new products are the oxygen of the company.

At the end of 30 days, the young man came to the conclusion that there were 15 sectors in the company, and they were all the more important. Until finally, the youth had the opportunity to talk with the company's president, who was only 34 years. And the young man asked how the president had so quickly found the best way forward. And the president responded: "When I was your age, I prayed."

Impressed the young man asked: "So a successful career is a matter of faith"?

"No," he said. "I prayed that the ambitious young men who competed with me, to continue asking questions, as I dedicated myself to do my job!"

THE MOTHERHOOD STAGE

2011-06-14T16:29:00.000+01:00

I thank God, that as I'm getting older, I'm becoming mature, and with time I want to become even more mature. As time passes by, there are things the Holy Spirit is showing and teaching me, that I have to stop doing and start acting differently, and not to forget that with as time passes, I'm getting to know Him better, have a better communion with Him, depend more on Him and become stronger in my faith.

God does not want this only for me, but to all who have an open heart to learn more from Him. With time as we depend on Him more, we get to trust Him more, see certain situations in a positive way, we become more patient with certain situations, we learn from the mistakes we commit and learn as well how to do better and not to commit the same mistakes again.

Today I can even use the example of the mistakes I committed in the past to help others not to commit the same.

Now, imagine if God didn't have patience with us before the day we came to Him?

I can speak for myself, because I did many wrong things before coming to God. I was full of faults, I judged many people, I had grudges in my heart, etc etc...

God has changed my character through the years that I've known Him and today I consider myself in the motherhood stage. I don't know if you understand what I mean exactly?

I see the motherhood stage as someone with a lot of patience, especially because I have a teenager, and when you have children in this age phase, you must have this characteristic. I'm loving being in the motherhood stage because it helps me to see others with different eyes, I get closer to the young ones, and get to know them better and they get closer to me too. I'm loving it!

Some years ago, I was someone who didn't have much patience for certain situations! I wanted to see things resolved straight away, I would get angry quickly with certain situations. Just to make things short, I was immature in many ways, and I'm sure this must have hurt others through my way of being, speaking and acting without thinking first!

As the years passed by, the Holy Spirit started showing me that I had to change my way of being, my way of speaking to people, how to treat them and to see them. If we say that we are from God, we must have His character because He is love and He wants us to bear this fruit and grow mature with the time and glorify His name with an excellent character.

This includes how to behave, how to treat people, how to see others with love and care, how to speak to people, because all of this makes up part of His character!
We can bring others to God and near us with our good character or put them far from the presence of God and us with a bad character!

It's up to us if we want to change and how we want to be used.

THE CLOTHES CLOSET

2011-06-03T09:18:00.000+01:00

We woman love to buy clothes. We can say, I'm not going to buy anything for some time now, but when we see that pink blouse in the showcase of the shop, we just have to have it because we don't have one like that yet and it fits with that skirt we bought some weeks ago.

We can have as many trousers, skirts, dresses and blouses as possible but it seems as if it's never enough! We are always buying something new.

Have you ever stopped to think about, why we are always buying new clothes.

It's simple! Because we always want to renew our clothes closet with something new, we don't want to keep wearing the same clothes year in and year out.

If I think about our spiritual life, it should be the same. We should always be willing and concerned to want to renew it, by always using our faith in every situation. To keep on seeking more of the anointing with the Holy Spirit, by focusing our thoughts on what is honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.

By thinking about what is worthy of praise.

Let us not copy the bad behavior and customs of this world, but let God renew us inside every day.

V-Woman

2011-05-27T18:57:00.000+01:00

V-Woman ceremony! 21th of May 2011

DON'T LET THE BED BUGS BITE

2011-05-23T18:03:00.000+01:00

I was reading this article and I thought to share it with you.VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW THIS!

Please read below:

After the news that over half a million Brits only wash their sheets three times a year, with six out of ten only washing them once a month, GLAMOUR set out to discover how long is too long to lie in your own filth, so to speak?

" It's estimated that 10% of the weights of a two-year-old pillow is comprised of dead skin and dust mites," said expert Dr. Lisa Ackerley. " So it's no surprise that your bed can become a minefield of bacteria, viruses, sweat and hear, which can cause or exacerbate asthma.

You need to wash your bed linen at least once a fortnight, and preferably once a week."

WHY DOESN'T HE SEE ME?

2011-05-18T16:54:00.000+01:00

I don't know if this ever happened to you when you were still very young; that whilst playing with your friends you would share ideas about how your future husband would be? What color eyes he would have, if he would be tall or not or if he would be blonde or not?

Well, I did this very often with my friends when we used to play together. I can say that all of us got married with a very different kind of man, from what we described he would be.

There are many Christian girls who have a dream of getting married to a man of God with the same characteristics as they have described. Many come to meet this man of God with the characteristics they wanted.

Then she falls in love with him!

However, there is only one problem: he doesn't feel anything or have any attraction for her at all! And he doesn't even know that she likes him!

She starts thinking what to do next to call his attention. “I must get closer to him”, "I must be noticeable to him", "I must do whatever is in my power to call his attention!"

“Wherever he will be, I must be there as well!”, “I must be near him for him to see that I like him!”, “I must know more about him,” "What move can I take next to be visible to him"? Then suddenly the frustration starts to appear and she starts asking herself questions like "Am I so ugly that he doesn’t see me?", “I always dress the best for him? What’s going on...?

See all the effort she’s willing to make to call the attention of this man of God? Imagine, if all of this would be done to call the attention of God's presence in her life?

If this young girl was worried about serving God with her life and time with the same effort she is using to call the attention of this man of God, I believe that God would make a way for her to be noticeable to him, without any stress, because she would stand out from among the others, because she would make a difference.

THE RUBY

2011-05-10T14:29:00.000+01:00

Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. ( Proverbs. 31-10 )

I was thinking about the value of this virtuous woman. We can see here that the Bible describes her value equivalent to rubies.

What determines a ruby's value is it's color. Garnet-like, dark rubies and light colored, almost pink looking rubies, offer the most value. Large rubies of a high quality are extremely rare and the most prized. Clarity is also a very important factor; "crystal clear" is the ideal, meaning you should be able to see through the ruby without hindrance. A cut ruby should have good symmetry and shine.

When we own something of great value we do not put it anywhere, treat it anyhow and use it anyhow, right?
Well, imagine me walking on the streets with a big and very costly pink ruby stone ring.

Probably most people passing by on the street would see it as a normal ring with a fake stone on it (something we see a lot today) and they would not give that much value to it. Not until I enter into a jewelry shop get it valued then others will know the real value of that ring.

The same happens when we are walking on the streets. People don't know our names, our background, who our parents are, where we live, if we are true Christians or not, if we put the word of God into practice or not, well in other words they don't know anything about us if we don't tell them or if they don't know us.

Many assume we are the same as them, that we probably live the same lives as they do, we have the same problems as many do, that we commit the same sins as they do, and not to forget those who sometimes look at you from head to toe and judge you as a proud person even though they never spoke to you or ever saw you before!

But only you and God knows who you really are and what your true value is and what it has cost you until today to have the life of value that you have because of your daily sacrifices to keep a life as valuable as rubies.

You are not like the ordinary women of this world, because you live according God’s will, of course you may have your mistakes as all of us sometimes commit but you do not live in sin.

You do not think like the ordinary women of this world. Whilst ordinary women of this world are wasting their time on unprofitable things, you are thinking ahead and using your time for productive things and you do this all day long.

You are a woman of prayer,

You trust in your Lord in good and bad times,

You are righteous,

You are honest,

You are faithful,

You are full of good works,

You love helping others,

You are honorable,

You love to give and never expect anything in return,

Your pleasure is to share with others, who don't have,

You have good eyes towards others who are maybe weak in their faith or still unbelievers,

You are full of grace,

You are a hard working woman,

You make a difference in what you put your hands to do,

You are wise,

You think before acting so not to hurt others,

You are a blessing for others and others have the pleasure to be around you because they always learn something new from you,

You are a woman of vision,

You are of faith and believe that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

What a VALUE this ruby has! It must have cost billions!

HE IS CAUTIOUS

2011-05-03T12:37:00.000+01:00

"The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit." (Proverbs 14:8 )

God is so cautious with us, that He is always showing us what way we should go, so we may have a long and blessed life, a life full of health and joy and not to forget protected by Him.

He is always warning us of our wrong ways, maybe by using others to help us, or by speaking very softly into our hearts about our wrongs.

For example, I normally can not eat apples very late at night. If I do, I feel a lot of stomach pain in the night when I go to sleep.

So you see, I know that I can not do that, because my body always gives me signs that I can not do that very late in the night ,but if I do, I will suffer the consequences after.

Well, God is always warning us about the consequences of our acts. It's up to us to analyze and think very carefully before acting.

You know, some years ago I was quite an impatient person. I don't know how many times, I wanted to see things resolved straight away. Because of my impatience many times I was rebuked and corrected by my husband, leadership and others because I spoke and acted without thinking first.

I had attitudes that if I look back in time, I feel ashamed and some times I don't even believe how I could have acted, spoken and thought that way. Unfortunately spilt milk can not be picked up again as the expression says!

However a change in us can only happen when we give space to the Holy Spirit to talk, show and correct us.
We should be wise to understand that our ways are not always correct.
God is always looking for a way to help and guide us, to correct that way that maybe years, months and days ago was corrected but today has become very curvy again!

However, for this to happen, we should all have a humble heart and not allow our deceitful heart to fool us into thinking that our ways are always right and that we don't need any correction because we know better. Correction always hurts when it comes and sometimes we don't even understand it at that moment, but after we can get a lot out of it as I did!

DOES HE LOVE ME?

2011-04-30T17:47:00.000+01:00

" When a light breeze touches your face, don't be scared, it's my longing for you, kissing you."

" The distance can separate two people but never two hearts that love each other. "

"When you miss me, look to the sky and the brightest star will represent me just saying good night my LOVE."

He often sent me romantic poems, letters and songs. I could not stop reading them over and over again. It seemed unreal! How could a man be so romantic? Often writing me romantic letters, poems and love songs! Was he for real?

I could not wait to open the letter box the next day, hoping to receive the next one!

I fell more and more in love with him, I could not stop thinking about him and those romantic words! It made me laugh; my heart would jump with happiness. I missed him more, and I could not wait to make a way to call him!

Maybe you are reading this and are curious to know who am I writing about? This was when I just met my boyfriend (today my husband). I remember I had a black small suit case, where I used to keep all my documents, letters, pictures and poems that he used to send me. I was living in Holland and he was living in Portugal.

I only got rid of them when I got married. Today we have been married for 17 years and he still loves me very much. I can say this because of the way he cares for me, he is gentle to me, he gives me love, he takes care of me, how he caresses me, how he looks at me, he understands me, and he gives me attention. As he takes good care of his own body everyday, is the same way he takes good care of me too every day.

I must say that besides all of this good care he shows me, he is not someone who tells me every day that he loves me! No, he doesn't!

I once asked him, why he doesn't tell me often those romantic words as he used to when we were dating, and he answered me: "If I say those words too often to you, when I want to surprise you with one of them you will not MELT anymore, because you will be used to it" hehehehe...

To be honest I don't need him to tell me every day that he loves me; because I can see it by the way he treats me.

My dear reader, we women love to hear romantic words, because it sounds like music to our ears, it makes us wave especially when it comes unexpectedly! It makes us fall more in love, it make us feel more desired... But know that a man doesn’t need to tell you every day that he loves you, you can just feel it by the way he takes good care of you.

In the same way that he takes good care of his own body every day, he should take good care of you as well every day! If he shows that to you, in all that he does for you, it should be enough!

AH... WHAT A DAY TOMORROW!

2011-04-16T18:58:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow is the day!

I can imagine how many people could not wait for this day to arrive, and I'm one of this many people.

Lets take this opportunity tomorrow, and be at one of the UCKG branches and seek for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

I can already see young and old people been baptized, renewed and revived with His Spirit.

AH...WHAT A DAY!!

WILL HE BAPTIZE ME WITH HIS SPIRIT?

2011-04-01T11:41:00.000+01:00

Yesterday after the evening meeting there was a young lady who approached me with tears in her eyes and her words hardly coming out of her mouth. She wanted to speak with me urgently because there was something bothering her so much!

I then sat down with her and she opened her heart to me saying she wasn't not sure if God would forgive her or be willing to pour out His Spirit upon her. She said she had played with Him many times and had never taken the things of God seriously, but now she wanted to give her life to God, be with Him and put His words into practice.

She is participating in these 21 days of fasting and she wants the Holy Spirit to come upon her, but will He?

There is no one more than God, who wants you to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Especially because this is a promise, and you will have the seal, the mark of God and from then on you will belong to Him and the devil will not be able to touch you anymore!

Moreover, God seeing the sincerity of your heart, that you are willing to change and in these 21 days of fasting, you’re searching for where you need to change. Furthermore, you are searching for what things could be impeding you from receiving His Spirit and you are removing them from your life. Now, you are putting His words into practice and you are thirsty for His Spirit.

Why wouldn't He descend with His Spirit upon you? After all, you are giving yourself to Him, you are sacrificing for the Lord Jesus, you do not ONLY believe in Him, but you are SACRIFICING for you to receive His Spirit!

"You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem (in the area where you live), and in all Judea and Samaria (where you may go), and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8) Ah... What a day it will be!

THE SPIRIT OF GOD

2011-03-23T11:18:00.000Z

One of the things I’ve always wanted to keep since I came to know God, is to keep my faith.
I must confess that I have passed through disappointing moments, moments that I felt alone and I had to depend completely on God for me not to give up, moments of strong tempest that I had to place the rod firmly on the ground and hold on because the wind was very strong.

I succeeded in passing through these moments of my life, because of the Spirit of God in me, and my trust and faith in God, which gave me strength, courage and uplifted me so I could look forward and believe that better days would come.

In the moments that we go through hard times, the will of our flesh is to give up on everything because we think that this is the best solution!

That's why the Holy Spirit is so important to our lives, because He fortifies us, He helps us, He make us look forward in the hard moments, He brings tranquility in difficult times, He brings peace to our hearts in moments of turbulence, He fills our hearts and more and more...

Yes... He does all of this, believe it or not and I’m saying this because this is what he did for me in the hard moments I went through.

I remember once when I nearly lost everything of value in my life! And when I say value I don’t mean material things, like houses, cars, jewelry or things like that.
But in this case, it was being near to the people of God, to pray for them, to counsel them and other things concerning the church and the work of God.
I must tell you that I used to come home really sad, feeling down, feeling rejected, with tears in my eyes! When I got home, I would go straight to my bedroom, kneel down at the bed and just pour my heart out to God.

And do you know what He used to tell me?
DON'T WORRY, THIS IS JUST TEMPORARY!
YOUR BODY IS JUST TAKING SOME DAYS OF REST BECAUSE HARD WORKING DAYS ARE COMING WHERE YOUR BODY WILL NEED THIS BREAK YOU ARE TAKING NOW!

These words would give me the strength to go on, would bring peace inside my heart, would renew my faith for me to look forward and believe that better days would come. And better days did come!
So you see the importance of you having the Spirit of God in you and to trust in Him.

THE LOVE STORY

2011-03-22T16:04:00.000Z

There was once an island where these feelings used to lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, other feelings and finally LOVE.

But one day, these feelings were warned that the island would sink. All of them rushed to leave the island, they took their boats and left.

But Love stayed a little longer because it wanted to stay a bit more with the island before it sank. Finally when it was about to drown, LOVE began calling for help.

At that moment, WEALTH was passing by on a beautiful boat and LOVE said, “WEALTH, take me with you?” WEALTH said, "I can not. There is much gold and silver in my boat. There is no place for you."

Then he asked VANITY for help who was also passing by, “VANITY please help me!” VANITY said, "I can not help you Love, you're all wet and might damage my boat."

SADNESS was also passing by and Love also asked him for help, “SADNESS, let me go with you?” SADNESS said, "Ah ... LOVE, I am so sad that I want to go alone!"

JOY was also passing by, but she was so happy that she didn't notice LOVE calling.

And TIME said "Come Love, I’ll take you with me!" He was an elderly man. LOVE, was so happy that he forgot to ask his name. After arriving on the other side of the hill, he asked WISDOM: WISDOM, who was that old man that brought me here? WISDOM said: "It was Time". “TIME? But why did TIME bring me?” WISDOM said: "Because only Time is capable of understanding a great love."

And because of this great love, is that the Lord Jesus Christ died for us all at the cross!

DON'T LIKE IRONING?

2011-03-21T15:45:00.000Z

Then we still have the ironing part! We must know how to iron shirts, trousers, bed sheets, and the list goes on. Then we have the iron temperature! we must know which temperature is to be used for certain materials if not, it’s “bye-bye shirt!”, or “bye-bye trousers!”

This is something we must learn to do before getting married, because we will get dressed every day. Probably, you will need to prepare his clothes every day for the next or the same day.

Yes, this is also part of your responsibility as his wife, preparing his clothes. I do this every day.

I like to leave everything prepared for him the day before in the evening because we never know what can happen in the morning! Imagine if something happens and he doesn’t hear the alarm clock or he's running late? I will not have time to prepare everything on time for him.

So this is one of the reasons I always like to leave everything ready for him one day before and so I won’t be in a rush to get things done. One of the things I REALLY HATE is to have to do things in a rush.

Want to get married? This is also one of your tasks as his wife.

DON'T LIKE COOKING?

2011-03-18T11:33:00.000Z

Often I wish I had more time for me to dedicate to this blog, but time is often short and I have other responsibilities that I have to take care of as well.

Just for you to have an idea, I wake up every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday early in the morning, tidy up my bedroom and bathroom, then I go straight to the kitchen to start preparing the meal of the day. Saturdays and Sundays are the days I dedicate to evangelism and go to the church in the morning. However, in the afternoon I still have to cook.

When I decided to get married, I knew that this would be one of the responsibilities that I would have to face. Every wife that wants to be a good house wife will have to deal with this.

What if you want to get married and you don't like or want to cook for him?

Imagine him arriving home from work, and there is nothing or maybe the food from the previous day for him to eat!

Imagine if he tells you that he doesn't want to eat that same food from yesterday?

Will you pull a long face?

Will you be upset because now you will have to cook something else, because he is asking you?

Will you tell him to cook something for himself?

Maybe he can even prepare something for himself, but know that you as his wife, it’s your responsibility! Even if you say, we both work. Even so, this remains your responsibility as his wife.

Do you only know how to cook almost the same food every day?

Maybe in the first few weeks he will eat it and not say anything, but you can be sure that one day he will complain about it.

Do you still want to get married in 1 or 2 years time?

GENERAL CLEANING?

2011-03-14T11:28:00.000Z

When I just got married, I used to take one day in the week to clean the entire house. I must tell you, I really took the time to see the house spic and span. I started early in the morning from room to room and finished only late in the evening.

When my husband used to come home from the church, sometimes he would find me with the same clothes I had on, when he left, or sometimes he would find me still cleaning. Believe it or not, late in the evening my back would be killing me. The next day, I could barely move due to backache because I had forced my back too much.

In time and out of experience, I found a smarter way to keep my house clean and tidy without harming myself. I also had time left over to be ready, clean and beautiful to receive my husband when he arrived home and not get a backache the next day.

All I needed to do was to make a schedule, for which area of the house I would clean that day. That was it!! I just needed to invest 100% in only one area of the house that day. And so I did with the other areas of the rest of the house.

You who want to get married in the future and want to start already getting used to house hold affairs and learn how to do it; I would advise you to try this tactic. It's easier, painless, it does work and you will have time to do other things in the day.

START PREPARING YOURSELF

2011-03-13T13:28:00.000Z

As I wrote on my other blog post: “marriage is something very precious, valuable and serious. But for it to have all this value and significance when you do get married, you must start to invest in it from now. So start preparing yourself before taking this big step"

What do I mean by “start preparing yourself?”

What would I do, if I was someone who still lived with mum and dad? I don't really have the responsibility of taking care of a house yet. I always leave everything messy in my bedroom. When I take off my clothes, I never put them in the wardrobe; I just leave them on my bedroom or bathroom floor. Sometimes your mum is the one who goes there to pick them up and to clean your room because she is tired of speaking to you about it.

You know that you must wake up very early in the morning to go to college, your workplace or wherever you need to be, yet you're usually in a rush for you not to miss the bus and arrive late to your destination.

Why don't you wake up 20 minutes before the time you usually get up? You will then have 20 minutes extra time to maybe make a prayer, make your bed, put back in the wardrobe your pyjamas and maybe do something extra that you normally never have time to do in the mornings.

By doing this daily, in time this will become a natural habit. The time will come when you won’t be able to stand seeing your bedroom or bathroom a mess anymore, because you will feel uncomfortable seeing it like that.

When you get married, it will not be a burden for you to leave your bedroom and bathroom tidy everyday. Your husband will see you as a neat and tidy wife who keeps everything spotlessly.

MAKING PLANS TO GET MARRIED?

2011-03-09T13:30:00.000Z

The biggest dream and desire of many young girls, after they have finished their studies, is to find a very good job and after, find the right person with whom they will get married, probably build a family with and be happy in their love lives.

There are many who plan, how this day will be, what colour the dress will be, the design of their dream dress, how the wedding cake will be, where the wedding will be held and so the list goes on.

You are seeing the years pass by, and you're already in your 20’s and you have already determined to get married in about a year or two.

Maybe you have even made a prayer request on behalf of this, that in one to two years time you will meet the prince you are looking for.

You still live with your parents, but the desire for you to have your own house and family is growing more each day inside of you! You want to have your own house, your job where you can go to every day; well, enough of living with mummy and daddy!

IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO START YOUR OWN LIFE!

Maybe these are the thoughts you've been having.

Up until here everything is alright! But have you ever stopped for a moment to think if you are really ready to take on such a big responsibility in a year or two?

Marriage does not only involve having a husband. There are other responsibilities that come along with getting married.

I have even counseled wives who came to me asking how I manage to find the time to do the things I have to do in the church, at home and still have time left over for the family, since it has been hard for them to go to work, and take care of their homes at the same time.

The other reason for this message is that I have been counseling young ladies who are planning to get married but are finding it very difficult to simply keep their bedrooms tidy every day.

If it has been a big fight to simply clean and tidy a bedroom, imagine getting married in this condition!

Won’t this marriage fail? Will it really endure like that?

Marriage is something very precious, valuable and serious. However for it to have all this value and significance when you do get married, you must start to invest in it from now. So start preparing yourself before taking this big step.

WHY SHOULD I PRAY

2011-02-28T17:31:00.000Z

Have you ever wondered why we should pray?

Prayer is the key to the heart of God. Prayer is the only way to a real and personal relationship with God.

We find intimacy with God through communicating with Him in prayer. We go to Him in faith, knowing that He hears and answers all our prayers . Be confident that God knows and wants what is best for us.

Even though it hasn’t happened yet, thank Him for it because the answer will come!

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”

Above all, pray with sincerity and humbleness before the Almighty God. “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results”

There are many times that I kneel down to make my prayers. One of the occasions is when I wake up in the mornings and I thank my Lord for giving me one more day of life, that He may bless the day, and that He may use me...

Look at the list of what I especially like to pray for and when I like to pray:

1.   For wisdom to make right and wise decisions.
2.   For a growing relationship with God.
3.   For the needs of my family and friends.
4.   For the spiritual lives of the church leaders and
       congregation.

5. For the conversion of today’s young people. ( The Youth)

6. For the opportunity to be a blessing to someone life.

7. For protection of all temptations and planes of evil.

Also:

8. When I wake up in the morning,

9. When I'm about to eat,

10. When I'm going to sleep,

11. When I'm going to read the Bible,

12. When I'm going to work in the office,

13. When I have an important meeting,

14. When I'm going to drive,

15. When I'm going to prepare something for the house of God,

16. When I'm going to write a message for my Blog,

17. When any evil thought passes through my mind,

18. When I'm going to start a fast or surrender it in God's hands,

and on other occasions and needs...

“Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” (Rom. 12:12)

QUENCHING OUR THIRST

2011-02-22T14:06:00.000Z

One of the things that I always struggle with and sometimes my husband even gets angry with me about it, is the fact that I don't drink much water.

Here, especially in England the weather is always cold and we all know that when the weather is cold we don't feel the desire to drink as much as in the summer. When we do get thirsty and open the fridge to drink something, we usually don't go for water to drink but we go straight for the juice or lemonade.

However, the right thing to do would be to drink water to quench our thirst and not to drink lemonade!

How many times does it happen that with the rush of life, especially here in Europe where life is a constant rush every day, we are so busy with daily things like, household chores, going to work, running your business, going to college... and we forget or neglect to take some minutes out from the 24 hours we have daily to feed and quench the thirst of our spiritual life!

It may be to read and meditate for a bit on God’s word and know what God wants from us and wants to say to us that day, or to pray and speak with Him and express yourself to Him. I'm sure; by doing so you are going to feel renewed for the rest of the day.

We should know how important it is to include God in what we do daily, by asking for His guidance and direction and by doing so; our day will be more profitable and blessed.

HE WAS CALLING ME SELFISH

2011-02-13T14:54:00.000Z

Today I sat down for a while; I closed my eyes and started analysing my life. As strange as it may sound to you, tears started rolling down my face and I found myself talking to God. Thanking Him for all that He has done until today for me and is doing in my life everyday.

For everything that I’ve seen until today and also for all that He has surely done for me and I didn't see. For the peace inside my heart, regarding the hardships we sometimes go through but even so I can find peace, strength and comfort in Him in moments of difficulty.

I found myself asking Him to keep on giving me love for the souls, dedication for His work and to always be faithful in what He called me to do one day. That my heart may always be on the altar and never look back or niggle about what He has called me for.

I can tell you how privileged I am to do His work on the altar! Today I can see this, but until some years ago, I couldn’t!

You know, when I started attending the church, I just wanted to be a blessed member, a person of God who would glorify God’s name with her life ...as we see many members in the church.

I never had the desire to do His work on the altar. YES... I never wanted to! My plan for my life was to get married, have a good job, my house, my kids...

I had my life all planned out for my future. Until one day God spoke deep inside my heart, it was as if He was calling me selfish. I was thinking only about myself.

There was much work to be done with only a few workers, He was calling me on the altar and I was rejecting His calling.

I then started praying to God to place the desire of doing His work on the altar inside of me, if that was really what He wanted from me and to put the love for the souls inside my heart.

I didn't want to start doing His work on the altar by emotion. I wanted to be sure of what I wanted! Not just leave everything behind without thinking or out of emotion then regret it later on and look back.

I wanted to make the right decision, I wanted to be sure of what I was about to do.

I wanted to be sure that when I made the vow, to be on the altar it would be forever and always with the same aim, winning souls for His kingdom.

And so the desire started to grow inside of me. I wanted to spend more time in His house. I would go to my work place but my desire was to be working in His house. I had the pleasure to go outside, invite and speak to others about Jesus. I wanted to dedicate more time to Spiritual things...

Then one day at the right time, He called me on the altar, and here I am serving Him with all my life, heart and love wherever He may send us.

THE CHARACTER OF GOD

2011-02-12T22:29:00.000Z

Let us consider the eyes of God in the person of His Son the Lord Jesus, when He came across Mary Magdalene the prostitute.

If His eyes had been diseased He would have condemned and rebuked her; instead, He understood and looked at her with the clear eyes of love, kindness and compassion.

Like many others the Lord came across, she had good aspects to her, she had gifts and talents. As Christians, we must learn to see the good, positive side of people. Be they Christian or not, so that our inner selves will be filled with light.

If we look at people in a judgmental way, our tongues ( which are so hard to control ) will sooner or later lash out and cause resentment; we could even end up immunizing people against belief in our Lord Jesus, in whom we believe so much.

If our eyes are clear we will shine our inner light wherever we go. Everyone that sees us will notice that we are different from other people, and we will bear witness to the One we carry within!

As we see, so we shall be seen. As we judge, so we shall be judged. If we love, we shall be loved. If we forgive, we shall be forgiven. If we bless, we too shall be blessed!

( Out of the book, the character of God, by Bishop Macedo )

PURSUE PEACE WITH ALL

2011-02-10T18:36:00.000Z

Which person can we find in this world, who can say that he/she has never committed any mistake?

It's very hard to find one or better said, impossible to find one!

All of us, especially adults and those who have the discernment of what is right and wrong, have already committed a mistake, be it small or very big .

That is because we are all fallible, and capable of making mistakes.

How many times do we even commit mistakes unconsciously?

I must say that I'm one of those people who has already committed many mistakes. How many times by my actions towards others, or other times by what I said, I ended up hurting someone else?

I must tell you that I have learned from many of my mistakes, and sometimes God even allows this to happen for us to learn from our mistakes or learn from other people’s mistakes as not to commit them again.

However, what is our reaction after we have committed that mistake?

How are your conscience and heart? Do we even bother about what we did?

Because mistakes we will always commit. Even if you say that you have never done anything wrong, for sure it will happen one day without you noticing, that you will say or do something that someone else will not like!

Many times our conscience accuses us of what we did and we even approach the ones we have hurt to apologize. You will find those who will accept your apologies and others who say that you have hurt them so deep and will never forget or forgive you for what you have done.

The Bible says: Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

Ask forgiveness from those you hurt one day and have a clean mind and heart about doing that. If the person doesn’t want to forgive you for your mistake, you have done your part to be in peace with her/him.

A SERVANT

2011-02-08T15:18:00.000Z

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'

And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!" (Luke 18:10-13)

How many of us, when we just came to the church we were like this tax collector? Unjust, adulterers, full of sins and mistakes and not to forget the many bad habits!

God was so merciful that He accepted us the way we came. He opened our eyes for us to see that we needed a change. He gave us a new heart and made us new people so we may glorify His name today with a new life.

Unfortunately, many forget how they came to Him, one day! And as we came to Him the way we were one day, and the doors of the church were open to us, the same way He is waiting for others who want to come to Him the way they find them self at the moment.

Now that God has made us new people, He is expecting from us not to judge or despise those who are coming to Him, regardless of how they come to Him.

He is expecting from us, especially we who have been a long time in His house already, to welcome those who are just coming and not see ourselves as better or superior to them.

God is expecting from us to always keep a heart of a servant in every way.

"And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:44)

THE SHOES

2011-02-02T17:00:00.000Z

Dear friends,

How would you rate our attitudes towards others these days? For example, on a scale of 1 to 10 what would you give?
How do you see it? Do we tend to think about others or ourselves?

Today, I want to speak about this subject that we sometimes forget but is very important as a whole.

How has our daily attitudes been?
If we analyze it, we will come to the conclusion that many times we do not give as much as we should, regarding those around us...

On a certain day an old man got on a public bus.

Since there were many people getting on and the bus was already packed with people, the driver had to shut the door of the bus. However as the bus driver did this, an old man's shoe came off of his feet and fell outside the bus.

The driver then started the bus and went away and it was impossible for the man to get his shoe back.

The old man then, very calmly took the shoe off of his other foot and threw it out of the bus window.

A young man who saw it, asked him: Why did you throw out the other shoe?

The man then said,"Just in case someone finds them, they can use them. For sure the only person who would give value to a pair of shoes found on the street would be really in need of it, besides I can't do anything with only one shoe anyway"

The old man then showed the young man that there is no point in holding on to something just for the sake of having it or because you don't want others to have it. In life we will always lose things.

Suffering loss can sometimes appear painful or unfair. However, sometimes loss is necessary so that changes and most of the time positive changes can happen in our lives.
Gathering things does not make us better people nor will it change the world.

It's always wise to think that what might not be of any use to us anymore could be of great value to others.

CONTENTIOUS WOMAN

2011-01-29T18:11:00.000Z

Here in England, it's normal for us to expect it to rain every day.
We have days when it starts pouring down then after some minutes it just stops (I prefer that) and we have other days when it just drizzles all day!

When it's drizzling, you don't know whether to open your umbrella or not. That can be so frustrating because it takes ages sometimes for the drizzle to stop, which is so annoying!

Sometimes, we woman can be like this irritating drizzle to our husbands. Why am I saying this?

Imagine after a long day, the husband comes home very tired from work, hoping to find comfort and rest in his house. He sits on the sofa, takes off his shoes and rests a bit.

Instead of the wife understanding that he is tired, that's why he left his shoes out of place, she starts complaining about the shoes just left there on the floor; Or then she starts complaining about him dirtying the sofa which she had just cleaned.

Another scenario, maybe he was in a rush, and left a wet towel on the bed. Then there you go, getting

angry with him again because he made the bed wet!

Maybe you are always accusing him or bringing up the past over and over again! This is annoying, isn't it?

Well I must tell you that sometimes our behavior can be very annoying.

Annoying attitudes include words and behavior that sometimes hurt others and in this case our husbands.

We must know how to control our attitudes. We can't think that we will resolve a problem by shouting, being impatient, or complaining etc...

If you are married and sometimes slip up on your behavior try to eliminate this because this could harm your marriage sooner or later. Try to surprise him by acting differently from now on.

And if you are single, remember to avoid this in the future.

A continual dripping on a very rainy day, and a contentious woman are alike; whoever restrains her restrains the wind, and grasps oil with his right hand. ( Prov. 27:15,16 )

YOU ARE STILL IN MY PRAYERS

2011-01-25T23:21:00.000Z

Dear all,

I want to let you know that you are still in my prayers every day.

BELIEVING IN YOURSELF

2011-01-21T16:09:00.001Z

There may be days when you get up in the morning, and may feel disappointed with yourself and how your life is right now,

....that's when you have to tell yourself that things will get better and that you are going to start doing things differently.

There are times when those who are dear to you, family members or even those who you see as best friends disappoint you and let you down.

However, it’s at these times when you must remind yourself that they are just human beings, they have limits and are also capable of disappointing anyone.

You must look forward, and believe in yourself! You must believe that even without anyone's help you can reach your goal with God’s help.

Challenges will appear that you will have to face and changes that you will have to make in your life, but it is up to you to accept them.

Constantly keep focus on going in the right direction. It may not be easy at times, but in times of struggle, you will discover the strong person within to keep you going.

Remember to believe in yourself and in all you want to achieve in your life, because all the challenges, struggles and changes will only help you to reach the goals that you know are meant to come true for you.

Always keep believing in yourself and that you are able to achieve your goals in life.

DO IT TODAY

2011-01-20T12:04:00.000Z

Sometimes we hear on the news or we hear people speaking about cases of people who were on their way to work, they felt unwell and were brought to the hospital and just died. There are others who were shot because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time or those who had a car accident and died then finally those who experienced some other tragic incident and are not here anymore...

It must be a shock for someone to get a phone call from the hospital asking you to go there straightaway because they need to speak to you, or the police suddenly knock on your door to give you the news that the person who you just saw some minutes ago has left this world and you realize that you will never see them or hear their voice again! It must be horrible!!

Sometimes when I watch the news and hear about these cases, I even speak to my husband about it, that it must be very, very hard to experience this; to lose someone who was healthy with their whole life ahead of them and suddenly they’re not around us anymore.

But the truth is that all of us will face death one day, either through sicknesses, or maybe because death just knocked at the door.

That's why I see it as very important to give value to those who are still around us like our parents. Who knows, maybe they are the ones who are praying for God to protect your footsteps so no harm can reach you.

We should also love, understand and give attention to our children who we put in this world.

Don’t forget to be patient with that family member or friend who sometimes manages to exhaust your patience, because after they have gone, we can't do anything for them anymore.

Let's do what we can and must do today and not leave it for tomorrow because tomorrow could be too late.

HOW I CAME TO THE CHURCH 3

2011-01-14T18:06:00.004Z

I remember when I was walking through the room and I saw them sitting there around that table speaking, in my mind came the thought, that the Pastor's wife was planning together with the youths, what to do and what to say to deceive the people who were in the meeting. Poor me!!

In my mind there was a very loud voice telling me that the testimonies that many people were giving during the meetings, were planned to deceive us. You know, evil can speak so convincingly in your mind that you just believe it! That’s what happened to me!

As I kept coming to the church, I came to experience that all what was happening during the meetings was no theatre. I realized that people were really being blessed and I could say this because He blessed me too. He blessed my love life. He blessed my family because we used to have arguments at home and I didn’t get on very well with my mother. I used to have constant headaches almost every day and I had constant back pains as well. After making my chains of prayer, He showed me that evil was the one indeed putting those bad thoughts in my mind about the church.

As evil tried doing this to me in the beginning when I just started coming to the church, for me to give up and not get where I am today, so he continues trying this every day with the rest of us!
Perhaps, not in the sense for you to think that people are lying about their testimonies. Nevertheless, maybe he is trying to make your heart and mind dirty with silly things. We have to be watching and praying every day as the Bible says, for us not to fall into temptation, because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. (Matt 26:41)

The devil knows where we are today and were we want to reach, but he will try and work constantly for us never to reach our destination which is our salvation and the most important thing.

Be careful with your thoughts, your heart, your actions...because we see and experience many things every day! Now it's up to us how we will react to them.

HOW I CAME TO THE CHURCH 2

2011-01-12T12:13:00.000Z

Days, weeks, or probably months had passed by, then my aunt invited my mother and I to go to a church meeting at this same place where I didn't want to be before. ( see picture below )

Well I'm not going to tell you that I went to one of the meetings straight after she invited us. It took some time for me to get there because, every time we wanted to attend one of the meetings, something always happened for us never to reach that place.

I didn't feel at home the first time we went there! However, I did give it a try by continuing to go to the meetings. There were three meetings a week. Sundays, Wednesdays (which was a healing service at the time), and Fridays. I used to do my best to go to all of these meetings, even without my mother, who sometimes didn't want to go.

There were two pastors and their wives, then after one more pastor and his wife arrived from Brazil. To be honest I was very suspicious at the beginning when I started attending the meetings.

I wanted to know more about this church. When my aunt invited us to go to this meeting, she said that it was a church where many people were being blessed, others delivered from works of evil, and people being healed. This was what called my attention and brought me to that place.

I remember at the first meeting that I attended, the pastor telling everyone that we should do our prayers and not worry about what was happening around us.

I than kept my eyes closed and did my prayers. After the meeting, I remember that I wanted to go to the toilet and I had to pass through a room where there was a Pastor’s wife speaking with some youths.

I don’t know what they were speaking about, and I never came to know, but I believe that she was counseling them.

I remember when I was walking through the room and I saw them sitting there, in my mind came the thought...

TO BE CONTINUED...

HOW I CAME TO THE UCKG

2011-01-11T14:25:00.000Z

You know, before I came to the church, I used to think that when someone starts going to church others see him or her as a “fanatic”. I thought going to the church was something for grandmothers and grandfathers and that people start seeing you as inferior to them. You no longer enjoy life, the church forbids you to do many things in your life and the list goes on.

Maybe you are reading this, and you are thinking, "but this is exactly the mind and thought I have of someone who starts going to the church and of how their life becomes".

I remember when I was learning to drive; I made an appointment with my instructor on a Sunday for an hour driving lesson.

The place where we made the appointment was where the UCKG was holding Sunday morning services. I then entered into this building looking for my instructor, but I didn't see him anywhere.

Then I quickly went outside the building and I discovered that I was in the wrong place and people were having a church service there.

When I went outside the building, I could hear the people singing, through the windows and it felt strange to hear that. I then went home and kept thinking about that place.

I had never been to a church meeting as far as I can remember. The next day I spoke with my instructor and he told me that I went to the wrong place. How did I end up at that place?

It could only have been God who brought me there, for a purpose!

Days, weeks, or probably months had passed by, then my aunt invited my mother and I to go to a church meeting at this same place...

TO BE CONTINUED...

IT'S GOOD TO BE A WOMAN.

2010-12-25T10:56:00.000Z

You know, we women sometimes complain about the fact of being a woman.

I know there are some disadvantages, like if we want to have children, we have to go through many hours of pains before giving birth to a child.
The majority of us have monthly menstrual pains, something that is hard to bear if you don't use pain killers,
Not to mention how many have to always show ( especially in the workplace ) that they are also capable of doing what the males can and there are many other examples that I'm sure by reading this, will come to mind.
However, there is a GOOD side as well to being a woman, for instance:

• We have one day in the year that is especially dedicated only to us. (International Women’s Day )

• We don't need to shave every day.

• We don't need to wear ties.

• We can cry when watching a movie.

• We know that the child we are bringing up is ours, and we are always present when the child is born.

• A short woman can use high hills to disguise her short height.

• With a bit of foundation we can hide any imperfections on our face and with a bit of corrector under our eyes we can hide those dark circles.

• We can paint our nails.

• We don't need to be muscular to be good looking.

• We are always first to be let in or out of the lifts

• At our wedding day, we are the centre of attention.

• We don't get bald when we get old.

• We don't need to get ashamed if we can't open food tins.

• We are able to pay attention to different things at the same time, and resolve many things at the same time too. OH, YES WE CAN!!

• We always know where everything is in the house. Men have to ask us where everything is because they can never find what they are looking for.

• If there is a case of life and dead, women and children are always given the priority to be saved first.

• We can wear any colour we want.

• We don't need to go to war.

• We always carry the least heavy bags.

• We are the ones who can builds the house.( if we are wise )

• We are the ones who honor our husbands.

•We are the ones who can be the crown of our husbands.( if we are virtuous )

• Lastly, if we get married to the heir to the throne we become queen, if the man gets married to a queen, he is called the Queen’s Husband or he gets the title of Prince but never King and we have the wife of the president who is called the First Lady. What about that!!

THE FROG RACE STORY

2010-12-17T22:37:00.000Z

Once upon a time, there was a group of frogs, who organized a competition.
The objective was to reach the top of a very high building.
There was a big crowd around the building to see the competition and to encourage the competitors.

The competition started..
To be honest, none of the crowd believed that frogs as small as those ones could reach the top of that building.
They were shouting things like “Oh, it's too difficult!”
“They will never reach the top!”
“The top is too high!”

Then, the frogs started to fall down one by one...
It happened that just a few were left still climbing the building.
Then the crowd continued to shout, “It’s too difficult! No one will get to the top.”
Other frogs got tired and gave up... However, there was one who continued climbing and climbing and did not give up!
All the other ones gave up climbing that building. Only that one after much effort was the only one who reached the top of that building!
Of course all the other frogs wanted to know how he managed to reach the top of that building!!

Then one of the frogs asked the champion “how did you have enough strength to reach the target?”
The result was... that, that champion frog was deaf!

And the lesson of this story is;

Never listen to people who are negative or pessimistic...

Because they take your dreams and the biggest desires you may have out of your heart! Always remember that words have power!

That's why you should always be POSITIVE!

Above all, be “DEAF” when people tell you that your dreams cannot come true!

Always think, “I CAN DO IT!”

Unknown writer

I'M HERE 100% AVAILABLE FOR YOU

2010-12-16T15:55:00.000Z

On Tuesday, I went to work in the meeting and as usual, I anoint the ladies.
Whilst I was anointing a particular lady, I just felt inside of me the need to speak to her and ask how she has been since coming to the church. She then starting opening up to me and telling me about some problems she is facing currently.

As there were others I had to anoint as well, I then asked her if it was possible for us to continue our conversation after the meeting.
Straight after the meeting, she approached me and started telling me more about her life. I counseled her and invited her to approach me anytime she wanted to speak to me, or when she needed a prayer or to ask for any advice.

She then told me that she was very happy and relieved to have spoken to me, because she had been going through these problems for some time now. She felt she didn't want to bother the pastors or wives with her problems, so that's why she had never spoken to any of us before.

Dear friend, I want to tell you that, when I decided to leave everything behind and give my life on the altar, it was for me to be 100% available for you, whenever you need to speak with me, whenever you need advice, whenever you need a prayer.
Please, never see it as though you are bothering me with the problems or difficulties you are facing at the moment or you may go through one day.

I love being used by God to help you, and I would like very much to be able to help you. Again, that's why I gave my whole life on the altar, so that I can always be available for you.
Never see it as though you are bothering me, if you want to speak with me. It is a pleasure when people approach me to speak to me because I feel used by God.
Moreover, I believe that all those who are doing the work of God on the altar think the same way about this matter.
We will always be here whenever you may need us.

By the way, I have written down on paper all the names of those who are followers of my blog.
This is because I have been praying for you, for some days now, every day at 12am on the altar at the church. I’m praying for God to bless you more and more, and that the year of 2011 may be different and even more blessed for you than ever before.

If you desire to be included on this list of names, all you need to do is become a follower. I will then take your name and include you as well on my list of people that I'm praying for every day at 12am.

WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

2010-12-14T12:51:00.000Z

"So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?"

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You."

He said to him, "Feed My lambs."

He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me? He said to Him, "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You."

He said to him, "Tend My sheep."

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me? Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?

And he said to Him, “Lord, you know all things; You know that I love You."

Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.” (John 21:15-17)

We see here that The Lord asked Peter three times for him to feed His sheep and I believe that this is no coincidence because we all know that Peter had denied Him three times after he said that he would never deny Him even if he had to die with Him.

Therefore, we see the moment he should have shown who he really was, and what the Lord really meant to Him, not by words but by action, he was weak and in reality did not show what he said to Him before, that he would never deny Him even if he had to die with Him.

Today we see this nearly every day!

Many people who say something to the Lord, then at that decisive moment, when they need to show Him:

What they stand for in their faith,

What He really means to them,

How important He is in their lives,

The moment that they need to choose between telling the truth or lying,

The moment of choosing to sin or not,

The moment to fulfill what they promised to do for Him and many, many other things...

In reality, they show a different attitude from what they said to Him.

Today, and everyday he tells us “DON'T JUST SAY IT, BUT DO IT!”