Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Monday 03/01/10)

Today’s Devotional Written By A Young Lady God has: Tracy Koweh

I Got "God" Babe

Ephesians 2:12-13 (New Living Translation)
12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

Today's message in the music comes from Sonny and Cher's hit song "I Got You Babe". The chorus of the song says: I got you to hold my hand. I got you to understand.
I got you to walk with me. I got you to talk with me. I got you to kiss goodnight. I got you to hold me tight. I got you, I won't let go. I got you to love me so.

So many years I wasted looking for this in another person that I made a lot of unsuccessful bad decisions trying to find it. As a female my first mistake was that I was doing the looking, and not allowing myself to be found. The second was that I wasn't spending enough time looking at myself and how I lined up with the Word of God. So many times in life we hook up and connect to the wrong person and then want God to fix them and the relationship. We can not connect to any person, kingdom or otherwise, until we truly get connected to Jehovah.

If we are not connected we may get to some sanctuary some where, maybe twice a week, but when we are connected we are a sanctuary that Jehovah visits on a daily basis. When we are not connected it means we give an offering, if we have just gotten paid, or if we are paying our tithes after all the bills are taken care of, but we should be connected to the point that our tithes comes off the top, no questions, no doubts, no hesitations. When we are not connection based on bumper stickers, slogan t-shirts, or fancy Bible covers, but a connection is when we lack showing a reaction when we are bumped the wrong way, tempted to take off our shirt before marriage, and what we do with the words within the covers of “The Book.” In life we ruin ourselves, a good man or woman of God, and our kingdom witness, because we have not fell in love with God Almighty FIRST. The Bible says to “seek first the kingdom of Heaven and everything else will be added unto to you”.....that includes a best friend, a partner, and a spouse, but they all come second to the Father.

Like I said earlier it took me awhile to get to a place where I could say God, for you I live and for you I die, and really mean it. To have enough self-esteem and self-worth in myself to say that with or without a man I'm never alone cause my God is always with me and He will supply every last one of my needs, and that covers emotional, spiritual, physical, mental and psychological. God is not against earthly relationships, but He is upset with the position and priority level we are giving them. Some of us can't praise God, because we are miserable in the relationships we have allowed ourselves to become connected too, or because God has not allowed us to be connected to anyone yet. We need to stop wasting time searching and start using it to seek out Christ. The rest will fall into place if we just trust Him and wait on Him.

Today let us ponder on the words of the song and replace the word you with God: I got God to hold my hand. I got God to understand. I got God to walk with me. I got God to talk with me. I got God to kiss goodnight. I got God to hold me tight. I got God, I won't let go. I got God to love me so. If you let Him He will be all these things and more to and for YOU. I am very blessed to have been found by the one God has chosen for me at this point in my life, but no matter how much love he gives me, he can and never will be able to love me like Jehovah. Connect to the one who made it possible to connect back to God, and watch your relationships in life catapult to a new dimension. It’s time to plug in and get CONNECTED.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Friday 02/26/10)

Today’s Devotional Written By A Young Lady Being Endowed With Power: Tracy Koweh

Blood is Thicker than Water

The Power is Yours………

Luke 10:19 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁹Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

Growing up, one of my favorite cartoons was Captain Planet. It was a series of episodes about five teens (each with their own unique superhero power), coming together in times of crisis to save the planet. The show would have different creatures or chemical agents taking out the Earth, and beating down the teens until the last five minutes of the show. By this point all five teens have united and pulled their powers together, to unleash the supernatural presence known as Captain Planet. Captain Planet would appear and the victory was theirs to celebrate. Before returning back to his place of residence, he would give each teen their special power back and say, “ The Power is Yours.”

This same dynamic should be true in our families, our homes and communities. Each and every one of us has at least one special gift from God. We all have access to the undefeatable power that is Christ Jesus. The problem is that most of us are trying to save the world, our families, our homes, our lives, all by ourselves. The enemy knows this and he is picking us off one by one. Turning sibling against sibling, parent against child, husband against wife, and we are losing the battle, but the war ain’t over til the Savior sings. If we would come together and combine and our gifts instead of using them to divide us, we can conquer any and everything.

We can’t afford to do this thing alone any more. Today let us link up one to another and let our powers combine to unleash the presence known as Almighty Jehovah. Let us allow Him to come in and destroy forever those creatures and chemical/spiritual agents that are trying to take us out and our families. We have to allow God to intervene: then and only then will the victory truly be ours to celebrate. Declare that no more generations in your family will die defeated, but healed, delivered and set free. No more excuses, its time to take back all the things the devil has tricked us into believing he has stolen from us. When you get discouraged, weak or knocked down but not out…………..remember that before Christ went back to Heaven He said to us……………..The Power is Yours.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Thursday 2/25/10)

Today’s Devotional Is Written By A Young Woman: Who Is Tending The Garden God Has Given Her: Tracy Koweh

Blood is Thicker than Water

And the Root of the Problem is...Part II

Deuteronomy 28:15-22 (New Living Translation)
15 “But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you: 16 Your towns and your fields will be cursed.17 Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be cursed. 18 Your children and your crops will be cursed. The offspring of your herds and locks will be cursed.19 Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be cursed. 20 “The LORD himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you dou, ntil at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me. 21 The LORD will afflict you with diseases until none of you are left in the land you are about to enter and occupy. 22 The LORD will strike you with wasting diseases, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die.

We've all heard the saying: "For every action, there is a re-action". Well, the same is true in the spirit world. We quote proverbs, "You reap what you sow", but do we fully understand the depth of its implications. I remember working with a lady whose mother and three sisters all passed away from cancer. The doctors said it was in her genes, that it was being passed down through her bloodline from one generation to the next.

In doing some further research, I found that natural disease have a direct link to spiritual shortcomings. For instance, cancer can be cause by unforgiveness, a broken spirit, and unresolved issues with another person. Allergies can come from fear, anxiety and stress. Accident Prone people tend to have a low self-image. Depression is caused from an unloving spirit toward self, or feeling rejection from someone else. Back problems are rooted in self-rejection. A.D.D. is caused by self-hatred, self-bitterness, and the cure would be to get the individual to love themselves... not heavily medicate them. Unresolved rage and anger leads to Aneurysms, and the lists goes on.

Just as we pass down "bad blood" in the natural, we pass down "bad blood" in the spiritual. I hear people say that each generation gets stronger, faster, wilder, and bigger than the one before. And just as this is true for their flesh, the same principle can be seen in the spirit. More of our children are being diagnosed with ADD, depression, and even cancer now in their pre-teen years than ever before. They are dying from heart attacks, strokes and natural causes before they see the age of twenty-one.

Today as you continue to clean up your family legacy, don't forget to kill the spiritual roots of the situation. Remember that if a demon comes back, it comes back and it brings seven other demons with it. Our children are fighting unseen principalities that they did nothing to provoke but be born. We are battling with demons because of something someone in our past did or did not handle. Let us stand and cut the roots off for the last time, and let us begin to plant seeds of self-love, self-worth,peace, sanity, forgiveness and wholeness in Christ.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Wednesday 02/24/10)

Today’s Devotional Written By An Insightful Young Woman: Tracy Koweh

Blood is Thicker than Water

And the Root of the Problem is...Part 1

Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 (New Living Translation)

¹ For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. ² A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. ³ A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.

My grandmother is a gardener. All my life I remember her in her garden, and even now in her sassy senior years she still takes care of flowers both indoors and outside. Her green thumb spirit never quite fully jumped on me, but I do remember her telling me that if you're going to pull a weed or flower up, then you betta pull it til the root comes out. See so many times when my cousins and I were on "weed-pulling" duty we would just pull off the top portion so we could hurry up and go play. We were not mature enough or wise enough to understand that we were only making more work for us to do later in life. By not pulling the weeds up from the root, we left it lying in hiding but not dead. In a matter of days more weeds would pop up and they would be harder to pull out.

Another reason we didn't want to pull the roots out, was because it was harder to do. It required more strength and strain than we were willing to give. Sad but true, many times in our family history, this is what we do. We handle the part of the weed that we can see. We shun our children for bad behavior, look the other way at drunken Uncle Billy Bob, or disown the homosexual. We never sit down and handle the root of the problem. Our children are our seeds, and we are the seeds of our parents. So maybe, just maybe we are the reason our children are off the chain right now. Maybe our grandmother is the reason we allow men to disrespect us, or our father is the reason men beat on women. We are all so busy trying to disguise our past and dress up our present, that the roots of our past are killing the flowers left in the garden for tomorrow.

God is calling us all to look deep within ourselves and where we truly come from. Some things we are battling are from seeds sown long ago. Some demons are attacking us because no one in the generations before us stood up and pleaded the blood of Jesus. We can no longer continue to walk around and think that the stuff we are trying to keep buried underground will not surface. God is giving us an opportunity to clean out our own gardens with His guidance, before He comes in with His own demolition crew. When God starts pulling things up, it won't matter if you're on board or not.

Today stop pointing the finger and start using your hands to pull up the roots that are destroying our families, our homes, our children, our churches, our communities, and our lives. Ask God to give you a green thumb for your family tree and get to work. The longer you leave a root to grow, the bigger, stronger and deeper it gets rooted. Stop generational curses now, before there are no more generations to curse.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Tuesday 02/23/10)

Today's Devotional Written By A Heart That Is Expanding: Tracy Koweh
Blood is Thicker than Water

All Stretched Out

Yesterday morning on my drive to work, I was feeling rushed and overwhelmed and it wasn't even 7am yet. The night was crazy because Jai woke around 1130pm throwing up, and it appeared to have carried over. As usual I was praying, but it was for survival in that very moment. I knew I needed a peace and serenity that only God could give me. While praying, I see the past 4 weekends behind me and the 6 ahead, all jammed packed with things to do, and I'm thinking to myself when will I get a break. When will my life start to slow down? On top of the physical draining, I’m also going through a complete spiritual renovation, and that’s when it hit me. I'm just all stretched out. My spiritual state of being and my natural body are both being pulled and stretched to its maximum ability and without God, I will surely burn out.



As I’m driving, I’m waiting on God to speak some great revelation to me, some deep word of healing or power, but all He does is show me a vision. A simple picture etched into my mind, but so profound in meaning. God showed me a bridge with a missing section right in the middle. He was on one side and my family was on the other. I was in the middle with one hand reaching out to God, and the other reaching out to my family. It was then I noticed my arms stretched wide, like Christ on the cross. In no way am I saying I am the savior or the only the one in my family who is able to touch Heaven. But I recognize that Christ did instruct us to crucify our flesh as He did on Calvary, and that means being stretched and going through some trying times so that God can get the glory.



Some of us have been called to stand in the gap for our families, until they are at a place where they can stand in the gap for the next person. Some times we are called to intercede on behalf of people who have mistreated us, abused us, lied on us, taken us for granted, or even tried to take us out one way or another. But the same was true for Christ. He was falsely accused intentionally for a crime He did not commit. Then He was mocked, beat, spit at, denied, and killed by the very people He was born to love, heal, deliver, protect, and bless with eternal life.



Today, stand in the gap for someone who is unable to stand on their own. Pray for those who spitefully come against you, and release generational blessings over your family. Take up your cross and watch God keep you. Sunday doing the message, my bishop pointed out that throughout the crucifixion, God made provisions to get Christ to Calvary. The greatest was just as the cross got to heavy for Christ to carry alone, Simon was right there to help Him lift it up. God knows what we need and just when we need it. Trust Him with your faith, your future, and your family and watch Him turn it all around.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Monday 02/22/10)

Today’s Devotional Written By A Young Woman God Is Growing Up By His Grace:
Tracy Koweh

Blood is Thicker than Water
I'm a Big Kid, Look What I Can Do

2 Corinthians 4:16 (Amplified Bible)
16Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day.

Today's message in the music comes from Brandy's song "You Don't Know Me." The chorus of the song says: “You, don't know me. You don't know me like you used to know baby.” This past weekend I was in South Carolina for my dad’s retirement ceremony and he was surrounded by family and friends. I was amazed at how different he carried himself, based on the people around him. When we would have one on one chit chat, I got to see the "softer side of sears" in him come out because he was in the presence of someone who didn't judge him or have an expectation of his past to live up to.. When he was around his sisters, he was more playful and youthful. His children brought out the protective side of him, and his "ride or die" bad boys club, brought out the cool boy wanting to fit in side.

I watched this dynamic unfold right before my eyes and my heart hurt. I recognized that inner battle of trying to be the person God called you to be, when everyone else is seeing you where you use to be. Family can be the greatest support system but they can also be the hardest to except what God is doing in your life. Some family members will try to lock you into your past from fear of you becoming great in the kingdom. Others will hold you back out of jealousy and lack of understanding the true power of God. Some will not want to see you delivered and set free because they will be left to deal with their own issues and insecurities. The statement that misery loves company is sadly so often found right at home in the family tree.

The thing I love about my God though, is that He will give you the strength to maintain your composure, the grace to keep your sanity, and the peace to have freedom in your deliverance. He will give you new eyes to see situations and people for who they are and their true intentions in your life. And for those individuals who have strongholds and yokes on you, He put you in a place to face them head on when you get spiritually ready. The preparation or encounter won't be easy, in fact it will be quite painful, but it will allow God to get the glory and it will give you the freedom in the spirit that you need to push forward. Sunday at church my bishop spoke from the topic, "No cross, No crown". The message helped me to understand that although this series of blogs have loosed and bound some things in the spirit, that right now this was my personal cross to bear. It has in no way been easy, but so worth it. The thing that has been the most painful is the exposure, and in the public eye, but Jesus was crucified right in front of those He would one day forgive, heal and set free.

Today don't allow the ignorance or blindness of your family, to hold you back. Don't allow fear or intimidation to stifle you. Trust in the God in you, and hold on to your victory. As we begin another work week, let our light so shine that ALL can see the change in us. Let us not be ashamed of the transformation God's grace has allowed us to go through. Mama may have, Papa may have, but God bless the child that’s got his own. Hold on to His growth, His gain, and His glory in Jesus name.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Friday 02/19/10)

Today’s devotional Written By An Insightful Young Woman: Tracy Koweh

Blood is Thicker than Water
The Family that Lies Together, Dies Together

Proverbs 12:22 (Amplified Bible)
22Lying lips are extremely disgusting and hateful to the Lord, but they who deal faithfully are His delight.(A)

One lie.
It turns into another lie, which turns into a couple lies, until no one remembers the original truth. I remember growing up and my mother telling me that the hardest part of a lie, was keeping it going. Once you tell one lie, you have to keep telling lies to make the first lie appear true. I also remember that sick feeling I would get in my stomach right before I prepared myself to tell a lie. The Bible says the truth will set you free and that we should not bare false witness on our neighbors. If God's word is the truth, the way and the light to our paths, how can we justify the lies within our family trees?

Last night while riding around with Shane, we got to talking about my dad cooking some curry chicken. I told Shane that I didn't want him to taste my dad’s curry, because he would never want to eat my curry again. He asked what was wrong if he liked somebody else's cooking better than mine. We went back and forth awhile because I felt that was a little white lie that would keep our relationship happy. But as I waited on our order to get ready, the Lord reminded me that there is no "white lie" clause in the Bible. The truth will set you free means just that.

So many of us are slaves to our own family secrets. From childhood we are taught, what happens at home stays at home. We have children at school holding in secrets of being molested, raped and abused at home. We have adults unable to fully function properly in relationships because their carrying secrets around that people would kill for to keep buried. Every time we lie to each other, we not only cripple that person but ourselves as well, until the core of both parties slowly start to die. Family lies are also some of the most hypocritical. We tell our children they will be punished for lying, yet we teach them to lie to protect us. Don't answer the door if it’s a Jehovah Witness, tell the bill collector we are not home, and the list goes on and on.

Whether your family secrets are from this generation, generations to come, or generations that have long pasted away, today you can stand and break the cycle. Make your family legacy one of truth, and honesty. Be brave enough to trust the Word of God and know that God will keep you. I have so many family lies that I've had to carry around that I am unable to even connect with certain family members. When I look at them, all I can see is the crime they committed and I want to scream, but I can't. I am crippled, but I refuse to carry it any longer. I am in a season of purging and although it hurts, the small victories and deliverances are pushing me closer to my purpose.

Today as we prepare to enter into the weekend, let the words we speak be truth. Call a spade a spade, a drunk a drunk, and an abuser just that. The same goes for the drug user, the liar, the spouse abuser, the manipulator, the gambler, the emotionally wrecked, the quitter, the homosexual, the smoker, the drug dealer, and whatever other demon needs to be called out. Healing and deliverance can never come before exposure, admittance and acceptance. The family the lies together, will cry and spiritually die together. But praise God the family that presses through together, will prosper and prevail together.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Thursday 2/18/10)

Today’s Devotional Was Written By A Young Woman God Has Given A Relevant Word: Tracy Koweh


Blood is Thicker than Water
Sibling or Stranger

Romans 16:17 (Amplified Bible)
17I appeal to you, brethren, to be on your guard concerning those who create dissensions and difficulties and cause divisions, in opposition to the doctrine (the teaching) which you have been taught. [I warn you to turn aside from them, to] avoid them.
   
    Growing up the only child for so many years, I was envy of most of my friends with siblings at home. I remember having every and any toy a child could ever imagine, but I remember not having anyone to play with after all my friends had to go home. Like most only children I always longed for the companion of a sibling. From the outside looking in, a big brother was there to protect you and a sister was someone to give or receive advice about boys, make-up and playing dress up. For me I didn't get to see the other side of having a sibling, always having to share your things, your room, your space, missing out on important events because you had to baby sit, or getting in trouble for something someone else did.
 
    Well, as I got older and my mother got married. I soon acquired several immediate sisters, and then two conceived during the duration of her last marriage. I didn't instantly get along with my "half" sister, but over time we formed a bond like no other. I could dislike her or say some not so nice things about her, but no one else could. We became protective of each other. Keeping secrets for each other, covering for one another, but most importantly just being there. See a sibling should be someone you can turn to in good times and bad. They should celebrate in your victories and pray for you in your failures. A sibling should be in your corner come hell or high water. They should want to see you prosper in every area of your life. They should not kick you when your down, or rejoice when you are broken. A sibling should be your "ride or die" buddy for life.
 
    I remember listening to my aunts and uncles talk about how six kids would take the beating for something that only one of them did. The five innocent children wouldn't dare say a word. They had an almost unspoken bond between them, if one goes down, we all go down. Also, my grandparents had established a "no telling" commandment in the house. If you were innocent and told on your brother or sister, you were thanked for your honesty and then beaten for your confession. The message that my grandparents were instilling in them, was to cover and protect each other at all cost. In today’s society we have parents turning siblings against one another. Playing favorites and acting as if one child is more deserving than the other. Some siblings are so disconnected from each other, they appear to be strangers under one roof.
 
    Today re-evaluate what role you play in the kingdom of God. Would Jesus recognize you as His brother or sister or as a stranger in His house. Do we live our lives in a way to protect and love Christ, or are we out for ours? When God blesses someone with love, finances, or healing, do your hate or rejoice? It is time for us to do a self check and make sure we are showing the love of Christ to all of our sisters and brothers.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Tuesday 02/16/10)

Today’s Devotional Written By A Grown Up With The Heart Of A Child: Tracy Koweh

Blooder is Thicker than Water
Let a Kid Be a Kid

Matthew 19:14 (Amplified Bible)
14But He said, Leave the children alone! Allow the little ones to come to Me, and do not forbid or restrain or hinder them, for of such [as these] is the kingdom of heaven composed.

A few weeks back I had to report to work on a day when most businesses and schools were closed due to bad weather. This meant Jai and Shane would be home alone until I got off of work. Well, on my lunchtime I did a check up call to make sure all was well, and to tell them both I missed them. As Shane began to replay the events of the morning, he mentioned that Jai had eaten cheese and potatoe chips since they had been up.I asked Shane why he would give that to her and he replied, "She asked me for it." The first thing out of my mouth at that point, was something I had heard most of my childhood, "Who is the parent?"

In today's society the roles of parent and child have been lost in translation. As Jai's mother I see that her sole responsibility in life right now is to be a child. That means she is to enjoy her youth, not worry about bills or parental disputes, play and have fun. Her greatest worry doing the day should be how to avoid getting a whipping. As Jai is growing and becoming older her role in the home is increasing, but not to benefit me.....to benefit her. I am suppose to prepare her to be able to stand on her own to feet when the time comes for her to leave the nest, so she can effectively do God’s will, not so she can be my rescuer. It is also my responsibility to make decisions now, so that I will not have to be a burden on her later in life.

The Bible instructs us to leave and inheritance for our children and their children, not bills, stress and worries. I know from personal experience the pressure one can feel to save their family, but sometimes only God can step in and bring about the turn around that is needed. For me I was pouring into a parent who did not appreciate what I was sacrificing to help them out, and so in the end I was left drained financially and emotionally, while they were given financial stability and freedom to make the same mistakes all over again. I had to learn that every hardship is not from the enemy, but sometimes its the choices we make within ourselves that cause us to be in pits we need others to help dig us out from.

Our children don't deserve to be guilted, manipulated or pressured into saving us. God has a purpose and a calling on their lives just as He does on ours. If our children are so busy trying to save our homes, our jobs, our finances, our sanity, our peace, and our family, they could very well be losing out on their house, their job, their finances, their sanity, their peace and their family. Today let us begin to correct the balance and make the line clear between parent and child. A mother and father are a "pair" of chosen vessels God is "renting" out His seeds to. We don't own our children, and our children don't owe us for being here

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Monday 02/15/10)

Today’s Devotional Written By An Inspiring Young Woman: Tracy Koweh

The Blood is Thicker than Water
Don’t Give Up on You

Proverbs 10:5 (New Living Translation)
5 A wise youth harvests in the summer,
but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.

Today's message in the music comes from Nas's song "I Know I Can". The chorus of the song says: I know I can, be what I wanna be. If I work hard at it, I'll be where I wanna be. I was talking to Lisa the other day about how I feel my life is just starting. Even though I'll be 30 in a few years, my life is stuck at 18. I remember wanting to go to college for a field that not too many people in my life supported, so I just gave up on my dream. Now I find myself trying to regain my momentum. Trying to push myself into starting over, and at a job that I never desired to have, so no real joy in what I do.

I tried taking classes for a major that people felt suited me, because I graduated with honors and in the top ten of my class, but it wasn't what I wanted so I dropped out. We all have to dig deep within ourselves and ask God to direct our steps. It won't always be easy but with God all things are possible. No matter where you are in life right now, it’s never too late the get on YOUR road to destiny. God places desires in our hearts for a reason. I have no idea where I'd be today if I had chosen to follow God and trust His plan for my life. So many times as the child we find ourselves compromising who we are to satisfy our parents and earn their love and support, but that is not what God designed us to do.

The Bible says to seek first the kingdom of God, not mama and daddy. The person with the cure for cancer could very well be in our midst right now, playing in the NFL or flipping burgers at Wendy's all because no one took the time to help them find THEIR path. Everyone who speaks into your life, is not speaking life to you. Their past failures, missed opportunities and dead dreams can cause them to stifle you in a place that can take years to come back from. God is no respecter of person or age, so trust in Him and follow your dreams. Those who truly love you will encourage and support you, unless you are really headed for trouble.

Today as we celebrate President's day, let our very own President Barrack Obama be a testimony to the words of the song: I know I can, be what I wanna be. If I work hard at it, I'll be where I wanna be. Becoming the first black president of the United States of America, was and is no easy thing, but he did it. Against all odds. Against growing up without his father. Against being a mixed child. He did it, and like Obama, so can we. We just have to be willing to put in the work. Go conquer your dreams..............

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Friday 02/12/10)

How Did That Happen?

Proverbs 29:15 (Amplified Bible)
15The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left undisciplined brings his mother to shame.

My daughter and I have conversations that often are shocking and mind boggling to me. I guess because the nature of our relationship, I look for mothers and fathers alike to be as pro-active in the life of their children as I am. But when my daughter shares with me some information about people she knows and friends that she has encountered along the way, my response is always where are the parents, especially where is the mom in the case of little girls, 12,13 and 14 sneaking out and having random sex, or dating boys that are involved in gangs, and dealing drugs and any number of other things, the hairs on my neck stand up. My eyes fill with tears and my heart ultimately breaks for the child or children that are being left to themselves while parents live their lives.
How disappointing it is to see parents so consumed with getting theirs that children are left home alone to explore sex with the opposite sex and the same gender as well. It is sad when boys and girl alike have no sense of family because of absentee parenting that they go out and join gangs or commit crimes with friends just to have a sense of family and belonging. It is heart wrenching to hear little girls talk about the only love they have known from a man is from a little boy who doesn’t even know the definition of love let alone know how to effectively express it. We as parents some times miss the boat entirely, because we are so consumed with ministry, work, education, and socializing or for some it is just plain selfishness and disinterest in our children that are children are being swallowed up by immorality, sexual promiscuity, crime, drugs and alcohol and we are clueless because we have our own stuff going on. When do we stop being the center focus and make that child an element of importance. Why are we not caring for the gift, and talents that God has entrusted us with? Then when we get the phone call our child is in jail, in the hospital or caught in a compromising situation we immediately want to ask, “How did that happen?” It happened because we are not taking the job of parenting seriously. We are not seeing it as a ministry. We don’t see that we should be honoring God through the vehicle of parenting, our kids are tossed and turned out and in most cases we don’t even know it is happening right underneath our noses.
Now is the time to refocus and make our children a priority, a ministry a source of pride. It is time for us to become active in our role as parents and become accessible to them, and they to us. It is time to put the “me” agenda to the side for the sake and benefit of the children that need us to actual raise them and not just live in the house with them and yell and scream at them just because our day was out of balance. Love, guidance, discipline, care, tenderness and mercy should be what our children see in us and receive from us not just when we can schedule it in but when they need it most, that is everyday. If we refuse to take our God given mandate then we should not dare to say when our child does something shocking “how did that happen?” The answer is simple it is because they were left to themselves!

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Thursday 02/11/10)

Today’s Devotional Was Written By A Young Woman God Has Given A Relevant Word: Tracy Koweh

Blood is Thicker than Water
Adolescent Abortions

Ephesians 6:4 (Amplified Bible)
4Fathers [and Mothers :o)], do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.

Pro Choice or Pro Life? Millions of people fight for the cause to save the life of an embryo or to preserve the rights of a mother. Some have gone as far as to blow up abortion clinics, or murder the doctors that work in them. There are arguments over the actual time the human life begins. Then there are the stages of abortion. Some say its okay if it’s the first or second trimester, and then there are a few who do it in the third. One could argue, although wrong, that until the child is out of the womb; no foul play or harm done.

What about when that precious life is a teenager? Who is fighting for our youth? Where are their pro choice and pro life advocates? I know too many young adults being killed daily outside the womb in the public eye and no one is doing a thing about it. They are being molested, abused and mistreated before they even step one foot out the door. Our young adults are our future, if we destroy them now, we are destroying ourselves. Our children are not here to be our door mats, our in house nanny’s, our convenience or inconveniences, our something to deal with or our meal ticket, or a large pay day.

Our young adults are screaming on the inside while acting out on the outside. They are torn apart and half of a person internally, and it shows by the way they dress, walk and talk. Our young ladies have no respect for themselves and they are giving their bodies to everything and anything and anybody that shows them the slightest interest in them, because they are not getting real love at home. Our young men are slipping away to the streets and graves because no one at home is taking the time to just hang out with them.

When was the last time you showed a young adult how much they meant to you? When was the last time you told them you were proud of them and that they mattered and had a real purpose in this life? If it takes more than a few seconds to remember, it wasn’t recent enough. Do you only show love to them when you need something, have messed up really bad and feel guilty, or when you are trying to replace real love with material things?

Today make a conscience effort to support our young adults. Stand up and be a voice for them. They are falling by the sidelines and they think nobody cares. A hug, a smile and some quality time goes a long way. If it were not for the people who loved me outside of my four walls as a young adult, I could very well be dead, murder or been a victim of suicide. God is moving in the lives of our young people and some parents are only getting in the way. Either help push them to their destiny, or get out of God’s way: before He moves you out of the way.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Wednesday 02/10/10)

Today’s Devotional Was Written By A Insightful and Courageous Young Woman: Tracy Koweh

Blood is Thicker than Water
I Need You and You Need Me

Matthew 18:19 (Amplified Bible)
19Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and [a]everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven.

There is a saying that I first heard from my assistant manager: Teamwork makes the dream work. When she first sent it to us in an email at work, I read it and deleted it, but that quote has stuck with me ever since. We have always been taught that a child needs both a father and a mother in their life; it is thought to be better for the well being of the child. But God is saying to some of us, that it’s for our own well being. I love knowing that when I am drained and can’t lift one more finger at the end of the day, Shane is right there in the ring with me, waiting on me to tag him in.

No man or woman can do it all by themselves. The old school church use to say it takes a village, and they lived by that. The problem in a lot of homes today is that too much pressure is being put on one parent. Whether it’s financial, emotional, physical, mental or spiritual, if it’s all on one parent to handle alone, it is way too much, and what should be a blessing now becomes a burden. This problem can occur in a single parent home just as well as it can in a dual-parent home. When a parent has no release, no break, no partner to tag, they are physically incapable of performing to their best ability, and that is not good for anyone connected to that situation.

When one parent is trying to raise a child and they are drained, stretched and frustrated, the child is the one who suffers the most. Whether it manifest as less quality time together, less patience, less energy or less love, something is going to have to give. It wasn’t until recently that I realized how much we all need each other. When Jai was smaller and a little less active, I could handle a lot more all by myself. But now she has minor chores, school work, outside activities, play dates and so many other things that a full time working parent just can’t handle all by themselves, even Jesus had twelve disciples helping Him.

A lot of my friends say it’s as if I’ve fallen off the planet and they assume it’s because of Shane. Truth be told, it’s because of Jai. It’s because I’ve made her future a priority in my life and that has required me to give up mommy free time in order to give her options and opportunities I didn’t have. I am so grateful that God allowed Shane to step in and step up with helping me with her, because I know that as much as I would like to tell myself and the world- - - I just can’t do everything. Since birth Jai has been a happy baby, but since she has been under consistent Godly parenting, her smile has gotten brighter and she is growing up to be quite the gifted child.

Today let us strive to all be better parents and role models, not only for our children, but for each other. We can give our children so much more together, than apart. We have to put aside our pride, our desires, our hurts, our pasts and push towards the same goal of making our children’s dreams come true. It takes more than one parent to make a child, therefore it takes more than one to raise them. I need you, you need me…..and our children need US.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Tuesday 02/09/10)

Today’s Devotional Written By A Woman Who Has Learned Who Is A Father To The Fatherless: Tracy Koweh

Blood is Thicker than Water
A Father is Love

Ephesians 6:4 (New Living Translation)
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

As far back as I can remember my birth father has always been in and out of my life. Coming and going when it was most convenient for him, and showing up and acting as if He should receive an award of some kind, for his appearance. Then there was my first step father, who came and went, and then my mother and my second step father divorced. Although both of my step fathers had children of their own, they both had some what rocky foundations with their children from previous relationships. So other than my years living with my grandfather, I have not truly seen the love of a father exhibited until my cousin Damon had his first child.

Damon was a young black man living in St.Louis, but he didn’t allow the stereotypes of his environment to shape the destiny that was to be his future, or the future of his child. I’ve always told him that I respect him for stepping up and doing the right thing. He has had other children since then, and each of his children know and love him. To the best of my knowledge, he has never allowed baby mama drama, friends, his life, or his wants to hinder his responsibilities or distract him from his role in his children's lives.

I remember speaking to his oldest sister a few years back, she said that no matter how mad his kids got at him, they always knew he would be there. What a statement, to be able to say about any man and the relationship he has with his children. Jesus was faced with the cross, and although He didn’t want to go, He was able to because He knew His father would be present. I do believe it is important for every child to have a father in their lives. There are some things that a woman will never be able to do for a child that only a man can do.

I loved and appreciated all the support I had growing up, but there was always that missing piece in my heart, that was for a father. A steady man to love and protect me. A father is suppose to direct a child in the path that God has ordained for them. He is to give them instruction and help them prepare for the battles ahead of them. To a son a father should be a role model, and to a daughter he should be a hero. Fathers are suppose to be accountable and dependable, and always there. It’s not about the size of the bank account, how many numbers are in that black book, or how macho a man can be. To a child it’s all about the love, time and commitment that you give them.

Today celebrate a strong father you know. Tell him how much you love and appreciate him. And let us not forget the Father of all Fathers. Let us give Him all the honor, glory and praise. Let us be children of the King in all that we do.

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Monday 02/08/10)

Today’s Devotional Written By A Woman With A Heart To Do The Will Of The Father: Tracy Koweh

Blood is Thicker than Water
A Mother is Love…

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (New Living Translation)
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Today’s message in the music comes from Christina Aguilera’s song “I Turn to You”. The chorus of the song says: “For a shield, From the storm. For a friend, for a love to keep me safe and warm, I turn to you. For the strength to be strong, for the will to carry on.
For everything you do, for everything that's true, I turn to you.”

This is what a mothers love is suppose to be to a child. A safe place. A place of refugee. A mother is a child’s first love experience on Earth, from the womb we have the choice to sow seeds of rejoicing or seeds of rejection. A mother’s connection should be irreplaceable and unmatchable in the life of a child. It’s funny because the other day I burned myself while cooking, and Shane asked if I wanted him to kiss it. I laughed and said “I’m not Jaida, and it’s not like you have the mommy touch anyway”. The revelation of what I had really said didn’t hit me until I started to ponder this blog.

See Jai has broken her little finger, ran into walls, had upset stomachs, ear infections and the list goes on, but no matter how “mad” at me she was, the moment she was hurt I was who she wanted. No matter how many times Jai “plays” me for the attention of others, when danger approaches, she runs to mommy. I am so very thankful, because in my personal life, a lot of my dangerous moments or scary situations involved my mother. What do you do when the one who is suppose to comfort you, is the one whose actions confuse you the most.

One of my greatest prayers since becoming a mother, is God please let me be the best mother I can be. Let me be the mother Jaida and my future children deserve. And he simply told me that a mother is love. So I figured the best manual on that subject would be the “love” scriptures found in His word. So although I don’t get it right every day, or with every situation with Jai, I can always follow these words to do better the next time.
A mother is patient and kind. A mother is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. She does not demand her own way. She is not irritable, and she keeps no record of being wronged. She does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. A mother never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Today take a moment to celebrate the good mothers that are out there. The mothers who are lifting up the name of Jesus and a standard for their children. Today appreciate a woman who has poured out her spirit and poured her love into you. If you are a mother, ask yourself……………………..”Am I worth turning too, or turning from?”

Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Friday 02/05/10)

Corrupting Influence...

Ephesians 4:29 (King James Version)

²⁹Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Ephesians 4:29 (Amplified Bible)

²⁹Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.

Ephesians 4:29 (New Living Translation)

²⁹ Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

The other night my mom and I were having a conversation about influence and how it is such a powerful tool to have. We were talking about how individuals in leadership have influence, but then she said but one of the greatest influences is a parent.Hmm what a truth and a revelation, as she continued she began to discuss some behaviors that she had seen that had gravely concerned her as a mother, because these were behaviors, characteristics and conversations that were being exhibited by mothers towards their children. As we further discussed the topic of the day and the scenarios that had played out before us both, my mother said that is "corrupting influence," I laughed knowing that those words were to be a devotional.

How often are we entrusted with blessing form God only to misuse our influence over them? Later that night as I pondered our conversation, God let me see that mothers are servants, much like in the Bible who were entrusted with the talents. When the master returned he inquired of his servants what had they done with the talents. One had double, what he was given he other increased by about half and the last one did nothing with the talent he was given, he put it in the ground and hide it. Many of us as mothers are not using our influence over our children to encourage them to grow, or mature, or to have a deeper relationship with God, spouse or their own children. Instead we are hiding them, protecting them, or enabling them in the areas they are wrongs in. Many mothers are letting our children stay right where they are, in a non progressive state.

The one thing that I hope beyond all hope is that my children will progress and do better than I, have. When I give them information, or recipes, or teach them something I rejoice when they take it to the next level, or do better than I have. It is not our job as moms to tear our children down, just because they look to us for affirmation or because they have accomplished more than we have. It is not for us to keep them fearful, because of our need to keep them around or keep control over them. It is not our job to manipulate them with stories or by twisting the truth. It is our job to help them increase and to grow. It is our job to help them find the path that leads to God, so that they can lie in abundance and freedom. It is our job to encourage them to dream and to achieve all of their heart desires. We should want to see our children spread their wings, and take their rightful place in the kingdom of God as well as in society as a whole.

God has given parents, but especially Mother's a special gift of influence, we should use it wisely and to Glorify God. It should not be for selfish gain, or callous manipulation. It should be that our words, actions, and mannerism honor God and encourage the children we have been given to steward to live, achieve, excel and increase. As this is what our Heavenly Father desire for us, so this is what we should desire for our children. Use your powers for good and not evil, to increase and not decrease and to bless and not curse.