The Love of a Teacher

This blog first posted February 10, 2010

Teacher….one that teaches; especially : one whose occupation is to instruct

I’ve wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember, right after wanting to be a ballerina and a princess of course. I grew up admiring the numerous teachers that I knew and also admiring my mom since I was homeschooled. Teaching seemed like a dream job to me. At first my thinking was, “You get to be the boss and everyone has to listen to you!” But as I grew older I realized that teaching is huge responsibility because you are instructing and molding the minds of others.

One of the major things that I LOVE about my school is how caring the teachers are. Pretty much any teacher is willing to help you outside of class, they all offer free tutoring, and they give you their personal phone numbers and email addresses in case you need to reach them. I love that they are all willing to go the extra mile to ensure that you succeed. My teachers demonstrate on a daily basis how much they love and care for us and want us to be the best students that we can be.

Job 36:22 says “God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him?” God is the greatest instructor that we could ever have. God shows us how to live in His image everyday, and He is constantly testing us on what we know. I don’t know about you, but I have probably failed most of those tests. That’s why He left us a lesson plan for our lives, The Bible. Yeshua (Jesus) is also referred to as “teacher” numerous times throughout the New Testament. God sent Yeshua down to earth to teach us that we could not reach the Father but through Him. God is our ultimate teacher and I hope that we are all improving our grades on a daily basis.

However, there’s a big difference between our schools and God’s school. While you may be a bright intellectual and excel in a certain area, but in God’s school of learning you can’t skip a grade. You may have to redo a lesson 10 times before you get it right. You may be spiritually in the 10th grade for six years if that’s what it takes for you to grow to where God wants you to be. There is no easy way out when it comes to what God wants us to learn, but I for one cannot wait until our eternal “graduation” when we can sit before the throne of God and know that we have pleased our Father.

As I am now looking at colleges, I have all intentions to major in early childhood education. I aspire to be as great a teacher as my teachers have been to me. God has instilled a love of children into my heart and I cannot wait to be a teacher. Even at the school where I internship now, I lovingly refer to the children as “my kids.” Have you thanked some of your past teachers for the influence that they have had on your life? Have you taken the time to thank your head instructor, God, for the lessons that He has instilled in you? Why not take a moment to let them know that they are appreciated.

I am happy to report that Tovah is graduating from high school June 2nd and leaving for college August 25th!



Until next time...Love ya,
Tovah


Monday's Blog: Ponnie


The picture is: Tovah and Blanca of the singing group, "Group 1 Crew" at the 2009 Philadelphia "Revolve Tour"

Sometimes It Takes Years

There’s a part of my life that is very exciting right now. And it all has to do with a personal promise that God made to me almost 19 years ago.

When I found out that I was pregnant at the age of 39, not married and in the Church—fear said, “You must have an abortion!” But God and His love through others said, “Trust Me. I will not fail you.”

I was a baby Christian and I really had no point of reference what it meant to trust God? I didn’t know God and His ways. I knew of Him, but I didn’t have a clue as to who He really was. So, to agree to trust Him was a huge step for me. And in the beginning there were days along the way that I thought I had made the wrong decision. But I didn’t, because over the years I have learned that He is trustworthy and He is faithful!

It has been a long and rough road being a single mom at 40 and raising a child according to God’s blueprint for her life. I’ve had to make many sacrifices along the way. Please don’t misunderstand and think I’m trying to say, I have done so much more than anyone else. This is not the case. I know that all parents make sacrifices for their children. I’m just talking about the things that God asked of me. We did not live what is considered the normal route of life. We did full time missions, homeschooled, part-time missions, homeschooled and more. And all along the way, God has kept telling me to “Trust Him!”

When Tovah was around 5 years old, the Holy Spirit told me one day that she would be a teacher. Okay, we all love it when we receive something like that from God! And it is exciting when He lets you in on his plans—but as life moves on, we can begin to doubt. But I say, “Continue to believe!” As the years progressed and there was no college fund, let alone a savings of any kind, I knew that God was going to have to do something out of the ordinary for us. And He did!

Tovah’s move in date for college is August 25, 2011. She was awarded a full tuition honors and leadership scholarship at a Christian College. Through various grants her room and board and books have been covered. In an economy where jobs are hard to come by, (especially summer jobs for students) she started a part-time retail job this week and she still has a few more weeks before she graduates from high school.

I am so proud of God and Tovah—God because apart from Him, none of this would be happening and He has taught me how faithful He is, and Tovah because she is following God’s vision for her life. Her major is Early Childhood Education.

As I look back over the years and the many hard times we’ve experienced, I can now see how it all played a part in God’s master plan for Tovah’s life. How only He can get the credit for all that is unfolding.

Sisters, I want you to be encouraged and faint not when it comes to the promises of God. It may take years for things to come into play, but we must wait for God’s perfect timing. When you think about the promises He made to Abraham. Abraham never got to see all of them come to fruition—yet, he “believed God” and it was counted as righteousness to him. (Read Genesis)

Maybe you are one who is becoming tired and weary because it seems that nothing changes and life is just so hard all the time. I’m a living witness to tell you to not give up on God. He is faithful! And His plan for us does not always mean life will be easy. I can tell you for sure that the great promise He made to me when asking me not to have an abortion, never included the word “easy”.

God loves us, so very much that He sent His only begotten son (Yeshua/Jesus) so that we can have eternal life. And He didn’t stop there! He also sent His Holy Spirit to live within us so that we would experience the comfort and peace of the Lord until our Messiah’s return.

It has taken almost 19 years for me to see what God had promised me to bloom into the flower that it’s becoming. It was years of Him weeding, tilling the soil, and sending others to plant seed and water it for Him. It has been a along haul, but He has never failed me once in all those years.
Sisters, sometimes it take years for it to all come together and while we wait on the Lord, He ask that we not become weary and trust Him.



Love & Hugs

See you tomorrow!

Men and Women Do Make Great Friends!

This first posted September 1, 2010.

Contrary to popular belief – men and women can be just friends. I’m not talking about that kind of stuff where someone has been a lover and now you want to remain friends and become friends of the new girlfriend or the new boyfriend. That is a worldly concept and a bunch of mess. I’m talking about two who belong to God. Let me say that again, “Two who belong to God!”

I have a friend who is like a brother to me. We’ve known each other about 13 years and have been friends for close to 11 of those 13 years. And, “No” we have never been romantically involved and “No” he is not gay! But what he is, is a man of God. He just doesn’t say he’s is, he lives it. And that is very important my dear sisters. I want to share a little about our relationship (yes, I have his blessing) because we have lived out a great godly love for one another. And if we can do this, so can others because we all serve the same God whose desire is for us to live a holy life unto Him.

We’ll call him Jim. When I first met Jim it was in a Christian environment. We kept running into each other around other people and I could see that there was something different about him. For one, he was single had a lot going on for himself and yet he seemed to be oblivious to the women that kept circling like vultures because they deemed him, “a good catch.” He was too cool to be gay, so what was it about this guy? What I saw was the anointing on his life. And without a spiritual eye, you would have just thought it was his natural persona. ~Smile~

As time went on our friendship just sort of happened. No dates, no fantasies, no crushes, it just happened. So sorry if you thought there might be some romance in my story, because we all know that I love to write stories. In fact I consider myself to be a great storyteller, but today my dear sisters; I want you to get this in the reality of which it lives.

The first time we hung out was at a computer show, and Tovah was with us. It was just friends hanging out. I knew several people who knew him and they vouched for him as a man of valor with a heart for God. I didn’t meet him and then have to try to guess who he was so. I was privy to the inside track. Why? Because God would not have any of us to be deceived. Remember we have an enemy who is a great deceiver, just read what Eve had to say about him. Plus Tovah was used to being around him already through a school and church environment.

As time passed we began to hangout more and more, especially after he found out that I was a woman of discretion and not desperate for a man. See, I wasn’t trying to hook him—at all! He didn’t have the luxury of people vouching for me and my character; he had to wait to see who I really was.

Let me fast forward and sum it all up for you. Over the years we have been to the movies umpteen times with and without Tovah, car trips, all different aspects of live theater, play cards at my house, eat out, eat in (at my place) and just a lot of hanging out. We do fireworks most 4th of Julys, and a host of other fun stuff. But it is just that, plain fun. Most of the time we are impromptu with things we do, sometimes tickets are purchased in advance and also forgotten…LOL!! And we have a great love and respect for one another. And best of all, Tovah has been able to witness the gift of our friendship. She knows without a doubt that men and women can be “just” friends. And I can’t leave out the best part of our relationship and that is he has the gift of helps and he has been very instrumental in helping me over the years in ministry. It is nothing for him to help me pickup women who need to be rescued or take them places they need to go. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do to help me and there are no strings attached to his love for me and Tovah. Yeah, it is the pure love that Timothy talks about…treat older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. (see Timothy 5: 1-3 NIV). And the flip side of that coin is that I treat him as a brother with absolute purity. The purity that Timothy speaks of is “Purity of heart” and that is what we have toward each other and our relationship.

On thing I have learned over the years, and that is most people do not believe that a heterosexual male and a female can just be friends, “No”, not even in the Church do they just let you be friends. You get questions like, “Well, what’s going on with you and Jim?” Or I loved it when I had a new girlfriend and one day when we were just hanging out and having fun, she asked out of the blue, “What’s wrong with Jim?” I’m like, “What?” “You know, what’s the story, how come you two haven’t hooked up?” It was too funny, but it was also sort of the straw that broke the camel's back for me. So, now I always refer to him as my brother with people who don’t already know him. That way folks hear me talk about “my brother” and when they met him (we don’t look like we are related) that’s when I share that he is my brother in the Lord. Well, by then they don’t have any preconceived ideas or notions about us because they only heard “my brother”.

Sisters, the key to having a male friend in the Lord is that you are not searching for him. You are not one who is desperate for a man or to be married. As Elisabeth Elliot says, “A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man has to seek Him in order to find her.” Stop listening to a world racked with sin as to how your life should be. Don’t allow the well meaning sisters in the church who keep saying dumb things like, “We gotta get you married” or push you to feel desperate or unhappy about your position as a single (unmarried) woman. STOP listening to the voices! Learn to be content in your season of life. Now my situation is unique because we are both destined to be single, but I have friends who are married, that had the same type of friendship with their husbands before marriage. In fact one of my friend’s was having such a good time living the life God had given her as a single woman that when her husband asked her to marry him, she wasn’t sure she wanted to get married? God had to tell her, “He’s the one.”

I have been very blessed to have my friend “Jim” and that my daughter thinks of him as an uncle after all these years, but don’t take that I’m telling you to bring men into the lives of your children. In fact, I warn you very strongly to be very careful about that. It takes time to get to know people, and never rush into anything with anyone. A friend of mine shared that her pastor preaches that single women with children when being courted should spend a year of courtship before ever bringing their children into the relationship. And when I think about that, it makes an awful lot of sense to me. Sometimes as single moms, women are too quick to try to have some type of family and jump to incorporate men into their lives and the lives of their children. This is not good sisters. Why? Because you are to never intentionally let a wolf into the hen house. Why? Because he will destroy them. And Jesus warns us that there are wolves in sheep’s clothing “deceivers” and we are to be aware.

Today I wanted to share how you can be just friends with the opposite sex, but there is a criteria for it to work. First your heart must belong to God, and you are trustworthy. Meaning, you won’t drop God like a hot potato when a man comes a calling. And you will take things slow, allowing God to order your steps and be willing to walk where He leads. There are times when friendships turn into love and marriage, and then there are times when friendships just continue to grow in the realm of friends.

Sisters, God is in control and when we let go of the reigns, step back and allow Him to be God, life has the potential for the sky to be the limit!



Love & Hugs

See you tomorrow

Sometimes We Have To Encourage Ourselves

When I was coming up, the two words you never said out loud were, “I’m bored!” Reason being, my people didn’t believe in kids being bored, so they always had some type of chore waiting in the wings to help you not be bored. I quickly learned to not utter those dreaded words, “I’m bored” even if I was. But the truth of the matter is that most of us experience some type of boredom in our lives from time to time. And so today let’s explore how we can turn that into something positive and good.

Being bored doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t have anything to do. It’s also a state of being, concerning the things you do all the time. You could simply be bored with your every day routine. Your days are probably very full with a lot on your plate, yet you still find yourself experiencing boredom of sorts. We have a tendency to fall into ruts, especially during the winter months when we spend more times indoors and at home. We are less physically active and often eat more. And some of us might even suffer from some form of depression as the nights grow longer and the days are shorter. I’m here to challenge you to do something about it.

In the spring and summer of 2008 I faithfully walked 2 miles 6 days a week and lost almost 25 pounds! And then the cold weather set in and I walked once or twice a week, and began to eat what we like to call “Comfort Foods.” My dear sisters, I want you to repeat after me…”There is no such thing as Comfort Food!!” That will be a discussion for another day, but the idea of finding comfort in food has tricked many of us up for far too long. I just needed to put that nugget of truth out there. ~Smile~ And along with not walking or exercising as much, eating heavier foods and watching much more TV, I ended up finding 20 of those pounds I had lost. That was sort of discouraging to say the least but inspiring at the same time. I was inspired to not give up and give into this momentary failure. I was inspired to move forward. But there did lurk the big question of, “How?” I walked again this summer and lost 15 pounds. I didn’t walk as many days because one thing I realized was that realistically I was not going to walk 6 days a week for the rest of my life. Therefore I needed to search out things that would work for me as a lifestyle change and challenge me at the same time.

Looking inwardly and truthfully at ourselves most often is not an easy task. Therefore we don’t rush to do it and given the choice we’d probably rather clean the toilet. But self-examination is a very important component to good emotional health. We have to come to the place where we are willing to look at the good, the bad and the ugly parts of those things that make us who we are today. One thing I’ve discovered is anything that demands a big chunk of time from me and is repetitious is something I’m not going to stick with. I love walking and for city living I am blessed to have a beautiful residential area to walk in that is full of flowers, trees, great architectural design and a park. But I still get bored walking every day. I have to mix it up. I love to dance and so workout videos that have dancing work for me, but I will become bored if I have to do that every day. I love watching Top Model marathons on the weekends, but if I had to watch it every weekend, I would be bored with it. Another fact about me is that I’m a daydreamer and a storyteller, so my mind has a tendency to wonder a lot. Even when I’m reading the Bible, certain words can trigger my imagination and I’m off. But worst of all, when I am bored I can gravitate to food for something to do. Yeah, I learned that about myself this past winter. So with this new found knowledge about me, I’m in the process of inspiring myself to live differently this winter and feed my boredom with creativity.

As individuals we all have different personalities, gifts, talents and desires, so what inspires one person may not necessarily be inspiring to someone else. But there is a common thread that we all have and that is a need for good emotional health. Continuing in the theme of helping us to find quiet time and rest for our soul, spirit, mind and body, what are some ways you can inspire yourself? The picture I used this week inspired me because sometimes I do my best thinking while soaking in a nice hot bubble bath. In order to inspire ourselves we must have a place to think without distractions. It might be a bath, or it might be at Borders with a latté or cup of tea. Talking to a friend about how you’re feeling can also help put things in perspective.

I want to challenge you my dear sisters to take time to look at your physical and emotional health and see what you can do to improve or maintain it. How are you feeling emotionally? Is there some depression lurking about? If so, what can you do to make things different? What is the root of your depression? I have purposely left out looking at your husband, marriage, and children because I’m encouraging you to take care of you. When momma is happy and content, things go oh, so much better. We are more patient, it is easier for us to wink at mishaps, people want to be around us and that person who likes to raise her voice in frustration all but disappears. It is about us my dear sisters, as women we often put ourselves last or neglect the things that make us happy and whole.

Mark 12:30 (KJV) tells us: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. I ask you, “If we are tired and our spirits and souls are sad and worn out, how much love can we give God?”

My dear sisters, I pray that you will take the challenge to try something new and take another step toward taking care of you.



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

Sometimes it’s “Us”….

We all experienced encounters with human beings we wish God would change. And often there is good reason. You know, that boss who is unjust in they way they treat you. Or the sibling you have bent over backwards to get along with and they never change, and even the parent who no matter what you do to try and please them—it’s never enough. But when we are running into the same type of problems but with different people, more than likely it’s “us” who needs to make change.

Making change is hard! Our flesh and souls rebel against it. Even in the midst of sin, we can become very comfortable and therefore do not want to be pulled out of our comfort zone—even when it means a better relationship with God and others. We are not quick to want to look at our stuff. Sadly though, all of us have “stuff”!

Our stuff can consist of poor self-image and lack of self-love. It often has a root of rejection and low self-esteem. Our stuff hides dark secrets such as rape, molestation, abuse, and sexual immoralities. All of these things left unchecked, are a hindrance to us living a full and free life in our Lord. Though we think we have it under control, that’s just another deception from the pit of hell. Apart from being healed and letting go, we will always be prisoners to our “stuff”!

Sisters, there are so many of you out there who need counseling, about your stuff! You are moving through life, very unhappy and your stuff is spilling over into your relationships with others. Some of you single moms are having problems with your children, but it’s not so much that they are not going through normal phases of life as it’s the way you respond and handle things. You are doing the same things to your kids that were done to you, even though you told yourself that you wouldn’t be like your parents. Why is this happening? Because you haven’t really dealt with your stuff. Wives, you seem to always be at odds with your husbands. Why? Because you haven’t dealt with your mistrust issues from being raised in a home where your father was mean to you and your mother, therefore the slightest infraction becomes the biggest offense ever—your unchecked stuff is hurting your marriage.

Dealing with our “stuff” is not easy nor is it a walk in the park, but, it is necessary in order to live the good life. To be free of the past and the hurt and pain that goes with it.

How do we deal with out stuff? For one, you have to own up to your stuff. Don’t pretend like you don’t know what it is? You have some sort of clue—we all do. True you may not know all of what is going on with you, but you know something is amiss. Once you’ve owned up to the fact that you have stuff that needs to be dealt with…run, and I mean “RUN” to God about it!

Some of you may need professional counseling for awhile, because you may not have someone in your life that you can trust with your secrets or things are so deep rooted that you need someone who is trained in a specific area. Some of you will benefit from a good women’s Bible study. And there are those of you who need to open up your Bible on a daily bases and read.

I have been very blessed in my Christian walk to have been given a mentor who is a Christian Women’s Counselor and Teacher of the Bible. We have a long history together and over the years she has helped and counseled me to become whole in the Lord. But I must tell you, it was not easy and it took time for me to be the free woman that I am today. Does this mean I have arrived and no longer have to keep dealing with my stuff? Nope! But I do know how very important it is for us as women to let God take us to the deep dark places of our innermost being. To look at all the things we have tucked away and are afraid of.

If you are not happy with the way things are in your life and relationships…maybe it is not everyone else, but “you” who needs to make change. Maybe it’s “you” who causes the conflict and bad outcomes of situations.

A fear that keeps us from being all that we can in God is not of Him. There is nothing so bad that we have done or has been done to us that the Blood of the Messiah cannot heal. Nothing!



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

REFRESH THE OLD

This blog originally posted April 9, 2010…but as I reread it today I found myself being inspired all over again. I hope you will too.

A couple of weekends ago we had a rainy and chilly Saturday. You know one of those days were you want to stay in your jammies and piddle most of the day. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do since my youngest daughter had spent the night over her sister’s house, which meant I had the entire house to myself. Well, almost, we do have two cats. Now that my granddaughters are with me during the week, I do miss the quiet time I’ve been accustomed too the past couple of years, so the question was, “What was I going to do with this time?”

Now I must be candid with you, washing clothes, rearranging closest, dresser drawers, and ironing was nowhere on the list of things I might do with this day! But that is what I ended up doing. Somehow I started pulling out summer clothing and discovered there were certain items I had not worn last year or the year before. Why? I don’t remember, but what I found was that I was going to have a fresher wardrobe than I had anticipated.

My finances have not yet lined up with what I believe God for them to be. Many don’t know this but a part-time job I had for almost 10 years ended in February. So right now I am not able to add the new pieces to my spring and summer wardrobe that I would like. And there was a part of me that wanted to be sad about this. Why? Because I feel that I work hard for the Lord doing ministry work and have sacrificed a lot to raise my youngest daughter and I should be able to buy new clothes. Now mind you, these were just my feelings, they have nothing to do with the reality of God in my life. I’m just sharing my emotional state with you because as women we can let our emotions get the best of us and easily lose sight of God’s reality. The purpose of “The Kitchen Table” is to let our sisters know that you are not alone in the things that you feel or experience. So, I just wanted everyone to know that when it comes to the makings for a “pity party” you are never alone. LOL!!

Now God’s reality in my life is…..He has kept every single promise that He has ever made to me!!! Thing is, He never promised I would be able to shop the way I desired. He never promised I would have a vacation and travel every year. But He did promise He would supply all that I have need of. Do I need new clothes? Honestly, “No.” Would I like a few new pieces? “YES!” Will I get new clothing this season? I don’t know? Reason being, my checkbook says, “No,” but since my checkbook does not have the final say, we will just have to wait and see.

As I began to look at what clothing I had, versus what I didn’t have, my entire attitude began to change. And the blues that were trying to get me realized they were no longer welcome. As they were leaving I had them send a text message to despair, sadness and woe-is-me, and tell them to turn back around because the party was off! ~Smile~

My excitement began to grow as I looked at familiar pieces with fresh eyes, and spent my day, gleaning a new wardrobe from what I already possessed. It turned into a time of refreshing the old or that which had become familiar. The next day I wore this beautiful blouse (it was one I hadn’t worn in a couple of years) with a new chunky necklace I had yet to wear, and headed off to church. Did I feel beautiful? You better believe it! Was it because of the clothes? NO! It was because of my attitude. While pulling out the different items, I began to realize what I had. Not just in clothing pieces, but what I had in Jesus. What it means to be the daughter of a King. I remembered that the clothes didn’t make me, but it was the love of God that made me. It was the death of Yeshua that made me and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. So that is why I felt beautiful and strutted my stuff. I was wearing designer, but it was designed from the inside out.

During service a couple of older songs were sung, and I realized how much I loved them but it had been sometime since I heard them. When I got home, I started rummaging through my CD drawer and found not only those songs, but many more I had not listened to in awhile. Since then I’ve made a play list of some of my favorites and I’ve been listening to them with a refreshed ear. You know how it is when you get a new CD; you keep playing that new favorite, over and over. Well, I’ve been playing my new old favorites, over and over.

Sisters, often what we think we need, must have, or want, is already in our possession. We just need to refresh or adjust our attitude about things. I love wearing a new outfit for the first time and there is a special feeling that can come with that, but I realized the Sunday before last, that nothing tops the feeling of knowing who you really are. I cannot remember ever having a new outfit that made me feel the way I did, in the outfit I gleaned from the storage box from under the bed. Why? Because it had nothing to do with the clothing, it was all about me.

Spring is the season for new life and growth. It is a time when we open the windows, let in the fresh air and clean away all the old dust of winter. It is also a time to paint, garden, change out the draperies and bed covers, and just all around freshen things up. We often equate this with spending money, but I wonder how much we can refresh by refurbishing what we already have? Do you remember everything that is in those boxes you stashed away a couple of years ago? Take a look, you might find that you have a few gems you have forgotten about.

Just as we have boxes in the attic, basement, under the bed and the spare room that we have forgotten about, I think we also have things of God we have packed way and forgotten about? I know that I always feel really good about my home after a good spring cleaning, and especially when I change out accessories or paint a new wall. So, what about if we approach our spiritual lives the same as we do our spring cleaning and planting? What if we pull out the boxes that hold our experiences with God and house His faithfulness that we haven’t really thought about in awhile? What if we get rid of spiritual junk that is cluttering up our hearts and taking up precious space where faith could rule? What if we pulled up some of the weeds we have let creep into our hearts and replace them with the good seeds of the promises of God? What if we did a good spring cleaning on our inner self? What would that mean for us? Sisters I think it would mean something different for everybody, but the common thread would be, “It would bring us closer to our Father!” And it doesn’t get any better than that!!!

I pray you have been inspired to look at what you have with new eyes. I challenge you my dear sisters to start spring cleaning in your soul. I challenge you to refresh, and refurbish that which you already have and get rid of the old that is trash and taking up space. How? Just as you would in your house…one project at a time!



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

Do Not Be Quick to Condemn

A couple of days ago someone posted this quote on Facebook…"Do not be too quick to condemn the man who no longer believes in God: for it is perhaps your own coldness and avarice and mediocrity and materialism and selfishness that have chilled his faith." - Thomas Merton. It has really provoked me think about what Thomas is saying and the truth his statement holds.

Truth is—if I were a non-Believer I think I might find it pretty hard to believe in God with the world the way it is today. I asked myself why I was feeling this way and I realized it’s because of what I see going on in the Christian world. There is such contradiction! And I wonder is this the reason people are waxing cold toward God?

Is it because Christians are all over the place and continuously give Yeshua (Jesus) a black eye and bad name? Like the group that is picketing funerals of fallen soldiers and sporting signs that say, “God hates them and gays” and that is why they are dead? What about the pastor who wanted to burn the Koran? Or is it that we are telling women to wait on the Lord and then the Christian dating service hits the airwaves and is now telling women, “Yes, you may be waiting on the Lord, but sometimes He is waiting on you to make the move?” Is it that we have one scandal after another—Pastors committing adultery, involved in homosexual activities and paying to spend time with prostitutes…male and female? Is it that pedophiles have been allowed for years to prey on children and the authorities in the Church have turned a blind eye to what was going on? Or is it the group that is waiting for a mere man to be resurrected? Or what about the group that believes they know when the Messiah is returning, even though the Bible states that Yeshua (Jesus) himself doesn’t know when He will be coming back, only God knows the hour in which that will happen!

Why would a sinner want to come to a God who hates them? Even in the world people hate hypocrites, so why would someone want to be around a bunch of them supposedly in the name of the Lord? So, then, why are we so surprised and quick to judge someone when we see they no longer believe in God?

Young women join church and are approached by married men, pastors and others who hold office in the church. They are shunned and can’t seem to fit into one of the many cliques, and to top it all off—they really don’t see much of a difference in the people other than they might get dressed up to come together. But deep down they look exactly like the hard curl world they thought they were turning away from.

Young men who want to turn their lives around come to church looking for a place of refuge, but find themselves being hounded by a bunch of desperate women, who say they are holy, but behind closed doors they are the same ungodly women they thought they were getting away from. They were hoping to meet godly men and be mentored as Paul mentored Timothy, but what they find is the same old mindsets as in the streets, but covered up in a façade of false humility and the guise of holiness.

People are being sold a bill of goods, that once a Believer, God will wave a magic wand and all your troubles will disappear. But when that doesn’t happen, they fall away—because they were tricked into believing something that wasn’t true.

So many have stopped believing in God because of what they see. And what they are not seeing is the love and truth of God. Individually as the visible representation of the invisible God, we are falling short too. We are a mess! We are not honest on our jobs; (stealing time from our employers) we are mean spirited to others, unforgiving, and argumentative. We are cold and selfish with our—me, me, me, attitudes. We see people in need but dare not extend a helping hand because we love our money or we just don’t want to make time. We are not kind to our spouses. We are compassionless to others we deem, “She made her bed, now she will just have to lie in it!”

Take a moment and think about it.

Now do you see how people can have a hard time believing in God? I can. Not only are Christians (as a group) and our poor behavior and conflicting ways on public display on a daily bases, so are our individual lives. We are falling short as the “Church” and one-by-one.

It is time for us sisters to make sure we look like the Messiah to the world. They must see something that is different about us. Not us trying to convince through our words that we are different, but by the way we live and treat others is how they are to know. And for those who have waxed cold toward God, we are to pray for them and love them, petitioning for their safe return to the Household of Faith.

I pray that you have been provoked to examine what your reflection might look like to others. And to have compassion on those who are lost.



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

LET US BECOME FAITHFUL IN PRAYER

Sisters, it has come to my attention, that as women in the Body of Christ, we are really going through some difficult times. And when I say the “Body” I am talking about our sisters in every different country and place there is. We all have our trials and tribulations to bear, but it seems that the things that many of us are experiencing “may be common to “man” but they are not common to us. This is what’s different about this time we are in.

I am asking that all the women who read this blog join together to start praying for our sisters. Romans 12:12 (NIV) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. What are we to pray each other? Whatever current struggle is going on in our lives and hearts at this time. We should pray for all our sisters who are going through the same thing.

Years ago I lived in an apartment building where you could hear everything. And the woman who lived above me was the neighbor from hell. I must add she is a Believer now, but back then she was not God’s child and lived the grand life of a sinner. She was rude and very inconsiderate. The noise was almost unbearable and effected my daily life, until one day, my mentor had, had it with me complaining about the noise, and said, “Why don’t you stop complaining every time the loud music comes on or whatever, and GET UP and PRAY!!!” Wow!! Yes, she did get my attention. First, she made me see just how much I had been complaining about the situation, and second she gave me an out when the music came on at 2 o’clock in the morning. Instead of lying in my bed moaning and groaning to God, I started getting up praying for her. Oh yeah, I prayed for her and her son. This helped to soften my heart toward her, (because we really can’t pray for someone on a daily bases and continue to have ought against them). But then I also began to pray for all of my brothers and sisters who were subject to kind of daily disturbing noise. Living in a big city, other peoples noise is a real problem. I can’t say how long it took but after awhile I looked forward to getting up in the wee hours of the night to pray for her and others. Well, soon after my heart had grown to the place of loving to pray for her and others, most of the noise stopped! I think for two reasons. One, God’s purpose had been fulfilled and our enemy’s was no longer being fulfilled! LOL!!

If you are experiencing financial woes, then pray for our sisters in the “Body” who are experiencing the same. If your family is going through any type of crisis, pray for our sisters whose families are being destroyed. If you are battling the enemy for your health, if your marriage is hurting, your children are acting up and acting out, pray for our sisters who are crying for the same reasons. If you are dealing with depression, sadness, and or feeling hopeless, pray for our sisters who may not be able to get out of bed today because of depression. If you are in a state of being displaced or hungry, pray for our sisters experiencing the same thing. If you are having turmoil on your job, in your church, in your community……PRAY for our sisters!! Whatever your life struggle is at this time, pray for those who find themselves in the same place. Why? Because from your own struggle and experience, you will offer up a more “Fervent” prayer and James tells us that kind of heart felt prayer, can achieve much. But also as you begin to pray for others, the Holy Spirit is going to take you to another level, which is very exciting. We are not alone in our struggles and problems. Everyone has them.

I do want to look at something before ending, and that is being “faithful in prayer”. Technology is wonderful, but like everything in this world, the good always has a flip side. There was a time if you wanted others to pray for you, you had to pick up a phone. Even if it was just to activate the prayer chain at your church, women’s group or talk to a friend. And even in that, most of the people knew you in some way. But today’s technology has aided Christians in being lazy in praying for the things they should be praying for themselves and not involving others. Do not misunderstand what I am saying, I am not saying that we should not ask others to pray for us or with us, but what I am saying, is that we should not be so quick to ask others to pray for things we should be praying for ourselves. Technology has also become a way to gossip, under the pretense of prayer. It allows us to put other people’s personal business in a very public forum, which is something we should be very careful about doing.

Prayer is a special gift, and our way of communicating with our Father. We must stop taking it for granted. In order to be faithful in prayer, we as individuals must take our responsibility seriously and stand up and pray. Let’s grow up and start living Romans 12:12 and James 5:16b. And let’s start by lifting our sisters up who are experiencing the same trials and tribulations we are. This alone will make a “Huge” difference in the spirit realm of God’s Kingdom.

I pray that I have provoked you unto good works on this glorious day our Lord has gifted to us!



Blessings and Love
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

And I Finished....

In any kind of race or game someone wins. They get medals, cheers and slaps on the back! They are at the top of the list. When I was in school I liked being at the top of the class. It was my main motivator – be on top – everywhere except gym class.

After the prizes are given out for second and third place finishers, there’s everyone else – a mass of active, fit (or getting fit) humanity. And then there’s the bottom of the list. The last person in.
You’re looking at her – the person behind the name at the bottom of the list of 5K participants.

I didn’t plan to be at the end – at least not while I was waiting to start. But as I got to walking I fell in step with a lovely lady who was walking simply to see if she could do it. Together we chatted about our journey through life – she’s older so the challenges are different. She had reached her goal weight and used walking to keep herself there! It was a good day for walking in Calgary today.

The river ice is breaking up and I saw a pair of Golden Eyes (ducks) diving in the chilly waters. I got my first glimpse of the “Peace” Bridge which has created a lot of controversy in our lovely city. There was time to see so much.

And at the end, the decision to stay back just a tad and finish last. Most of us know people who finish somewhere in the pack. Fewer know the persons who finish first (I don’t know anyone who’s finished first) Maybe even fewer know someone who finished last. Well, now you know me.

Who knows, maybe I’ll be last again next time out, but I’ve got a time to beat – Officially its 1.01.45.74 hours which is what I figured. The net time is a little less at 1.01.29.47. And the pace, whatever that was, was 12:18. Those are the numbers to strive to overcome!

I’m sure this won’t be the last event I’ll be participating in on my journey to health and fitness. It’s too much fun!

Have a wonderful Saturday, and a restful Sabbath!

And until next time.
Marcia


Marcia Stehouwer, lives in Calgary, Alberta Canada…and frequently shares her own blogs as a guest writer with us. Thank you Marcia for such an encouraging and enlightening look at how wonderful it can be to finish last.

Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you ladies on Monday!

Decisions, Decisions, DECISIONS!! Part II

Yesterday we talked about how in the course of any given day we make so many decisions it is basically impossible to keep track of them all. But there is one decision we can make that is harmful—making God last! Saving Him for the end of the day, when we are tired and brain dead.

I have a friend who has a saying that describes how we as Believers often find ourselves in trouble. “We slow walk into places we never meant to go.” Over the years I’ve found this to be very true. When we don’t spend the time with the Lord our soul and spirit needs to stay strong, we begin to slow walk into places we have no business being. And since we are slowly (bit-by-bit) going there, we are often not aware it is happening—until it is too late.

One of the biggest problems we run into when we are not touching base and staying connected with God on a daily bases, is a lack of faith or a “Weak trust” in God. And that can propel us into slow walking into areas that are definitely not good for us. When our trust in God is weak, we lose confidence in Him. Shaky faith equals wavering thoughts and being double-minded in our decision making. In other words, we are back in forth from one moment to the next. Finding it hard to “believe” and stand strong—making poor decision out of fear and worry.

There are also other problems we open the door for when we are not fellowshipping with God as we should. We begin to take on doing things in our own strength. It only stands to reason, because if we’re not spending time with Him concerning our problems, then we have to take on working them out ourselves. And that leads to even more trouble.

Noah spent the beautiful sunny gorgeous days building the Arch and preparing for the storm. And when the rains and flood hit…he was prepared! We should follow his example. If we have a day where we look at our “To Do List” and feel very accomplished but didn’t spend quality time with God…then we are not following Noah’s example. Can you imagine Noah and his sons trying to build the Arch once the rains started? It would have been impossible. But that is what some of us like to do. When things are moving along pretty well, we don’t make the time for God we should, but when the storms of life hit (and they are going to come) then we are scrambling to be with God and build our arch of confidence in the pounding rain and flood.

Sisters, please spend time reading your Bibles on a daily bases. And I’m not just talking about a little 15 minute devotional you do every day. I’m talking about becoming disciplined in making quality time where you sit down and just read and talk to the Lord about what you are reading and how it affects your life. Have a conversation with God, which means sit and listen to what He has to say to you.

We cannot escape the daily decision making in our lives, and some days are more overwhelming than others, but one of the best decisions we can make in the course of our day—is time spent with the Lord!



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

Marcia will be joining us tomorrow!

Decisions, Decisions, DECISIONS!!

Decisions are something we make continuously throughout our day. The alarm goes off—do we hit snooze for 9 more minutes or do we get up? From the beginning of our day to the end, we do nothing but make decisions—I’m a little tired I think I’ll turn in early tonight.

We make so many decisions in the course of one day it is probably impossible to count them. What’s for breakfast, what am I going to wear? What am I packing for lunches, do I have time for coffee or will I get some on the way to work. Once the kids are out the door and on their way to school, what do I do first? Do I make the beds, clean up the breakfast dishes, sneak on Facebook before I start my chores? And this is just the first hour and a half that we have been up. Get my point? Realistically trying to count the many decisions we make every day—Impossible! But with any decision making there is always room for human error and even in the little everyday things of life we are not always as prudent as we could be.

How many will raise their hands to admit there are times when you spend too much time on Facebook? Personally I have found myself washing breakfast and lunch dishes right before it is time to cook dinner. Well, I usually wash them together most days because I don’t have that many and it saves on water and dish detergent. This is supposed to happen right after lunch is finished….not four or five hours later. What happened? I jumped on Facebook for a quick minute to see what was going on and that quick minute turned into a quick couple of hours. Poor decision on my part. We all make them during the course of our day—it’s normal to stray from the script of things we are suppose to be doing. ~Smile~ But then there are those decisions that we make on a daily bases that aren’t as easy to rectify as washing the dishes before starting supper.

The decision to put off spending time with the Lord is one that has far more reaching consequences then rushing around at the end of the day to wash dirty dishes, freshen up the bathrooms and vacuum before the kids or your husband walks through the door. And though the consequences can be more devastating then your husband asking, “What did you do all day?” they are most often not as oblivious as dirty dishes in the sink, or an unmade bed.

We will try our best to rectify the things we have put off during the day, especially if someone else is going to see that we weren’t on top of things. So, by the end of the day our houses are neat and tidy and all the laundry is washed, folded and put away. But then we are too tired to rectify the fact that we really didn’t spend time with the Lord. But that is okay because He loves us and we will make it up to Him tomorrow. And when tomorrow comes we have to start making decisions the moment our eyes open, which translates into—off to the races with all the things we have to do just to get our day started. And once again we make the decision to spend time with the Lord later. But later doesn’t come.

Most of us would never think about going 10 days without washing dishes, our dirty clothes, changing our bed linens, mopping our floors, dusting our furniture, food shopping for our family…no way! But we can easily find ourselves letting 10 days go by and not really spend much time reading our Bibles or talking to the Lord. And when I say talking to the Lord, I’m not talking about our long laundry list of things we want Him to do for us or our families. I’m talking about spending quiet time so we can hear what He wants from us.

When we make the decision to put off God, we make one the worst decisions of our day. If you’ve been allowing the many other things in life to come before God, make the decision “today” that’s going to change.

Tomorrow we will take a look at the type of consequences we encounter from not spending the time with our Father that we should. Be sure to tune in!



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

The Temptation to Overextend

“Resist the temptation to take on more than you can effectively handle. Any over-extension could deplete your resources physically, emotionally, financially or spiritually. Exercise sound judgment when making choices and you would do well to be conservative. The enemy would love to stretch you beyond your abilities.” I read this on a friend’s Facebook status a week or so ago and it struck home so much, I wanted to write about it.

Mostly when we think about resisting temptation, it covers things like, fornication, lying, stealing, cussing folks out, gossiping, adultery, gambling, over eating, giving folks a piece of your mind…you know things like that. But do we often think about the temptation to take on more than we can effectively handle? Probably not so much. As women we can easily find ourselves in the predicament of having too much on our plates, and the culprit for the overload is usually us.

Any over-extension could deplete your resources physically, emotionally, financially or spiritually, and it can make for a poor testimony for God. One important thing a Believer should be is a person of their word. An overextended person can find themselves not keeping up with what they said they would do. They often find themselves not meeting deadlines and are late with things across the board. It is important to do what we say we are going to do and in the time frame we said we would.

Speaking before we think is problem for many of us. I just did it. On Friday I made a commitment to do something before I really thought about it and found myself overextended this weekend. And to tell you the truth I was really upset with myself. At this point I should know better! Well, the truth is, I do know better. But I had a laps in poor judgment. If I had just taken a moment to think I would have remembered before hand that the day I made the commitment was already very full. I felt stuck and a little overwhelmed that day. But I knew how important it was to keep my word, so I made sure to do what I had committed myself to. Wasn’t happy about it though.

Over-extension can be a commitment that affects everyday of your life, or just one day. But either way, it is not good.

I wonder how many women at the Women of Faith Conferences have committed to sponsoring a child after their plea for World Vision, who later found it a strain on their budget? I’m sure there have been some. Because it is easy to get caught up in the emotion of things. What about that last thing you were asked to help out with at church and you said “Yes,” before counting the cost and you now find yourself in a bind trying to keep up?

I think in many cases we find ourselves overextended simply because we want to help. We have a need to nurture and we want to be doing something for God. But the trick is to “Exercise sound judgment when making choices and do well to be conservative.” In other words, take a moment to think about the small things and pray about the big things.

Why does the enemy love to stretch us beyond our abilities? Because he loves to see us fail. It brings him great pleasure when we become known as a person who does not keep her word. He is very satisfied when we are frustrated and cranky because we can’t get it all done. And if you’ve ever experienced working with an already tight budget and do something to make it even leaner, then most of you know—that is a recipe for an unhappy camper.

Sisters, it is wonderful to want to help, and feel needed. But be careful in overextending yourselves. It is better to do one thing and do it well, then to try to do two things and come up short on both of them.


Love & Hugs
Ponnie


See you tomorrow!

Taking Time Off

Blessings Sisters!!

This has turned into a week where I am a bit overwhelmed. I published my new website yesterday SingleParentsCanHomeschoolToo.com…please check us out!

I have a great passion to get the homeschooling message out to single parents, especially those who find themselves at odds with the education their child or children are receiving.

Tovah is turning 18 on Thursday and we have appointments this week in finishing up the college process and the list sort of goes on. So, I must put my “Gone Fishing” sign up for this week.

Please keep me in your prayers as I work through everything this week.

God willing, I will be back Monday the 11th with something inspiring for us all.



Blessings & Love
Ponnie

I Bless You

When you read the Old Testament you see how it was a really big deal to speak blessing over people. It was so important that Rebekah and her son Jacob tricked Isaac into giving him Esau’s blessing. (Genesis 27) But in today’s world we see many parents cursing their children versus blessing them. I’m not talking about using cuss words, but actually speaking death and curses over their children. “You will never amount to anything!” “You are worthless and good for nothing!” “You are stupid!” There is no blessing in these words, they are all curses. You also see spouses belittling and speaking curses to one another and children also imitating their parents by cursing their siblings.

We just don’t see an abundance of people speaking blessing to each other. Not the way they did in the Bible. The prophets blessed people for being generous to them and the list goes on. How come we don’t use our tongues to speak blessing to one another as much as we use them to gossip or tear down? I don’t know why, but today I want to change that and speak a few blessings to you.

May your faith in God withstand the test of time.

May you be blessed in your comings and goings.

May the love of the Messiah reign in your heart and home.

May your children rise up each day and call you blessed and beloved.

May your husband’s love for you keep its oath to God.

May your end days have more tears of joy than sadness.

May you be one who is quick to forgive and keeps no record of wrong.

May the work of your hands be blessed beyond measure.

May your disposition be quiet and one that pleases the Lord.

But most of all—May your name be written in the Book of Life!

Sisters, I challenge you to write a blessing to someone you know and send it to them through snails mail. It just might reach them on a day they need to be encouraged by the thoughts and love of someone.

Enjoy your weekend!



Blessings & Love
Ponnie

See you Monday!!