Month: January 2016

Most of us may have been affected by the situation written about in this guest post by my dear sister Roxanne McKoy-Chambers. Life sometimes gets in the way of our devotional lives and we just don’t get around to spending quality time in communion with him. As Roxanne shares her experience, I hope you will be able to see the love that God has for us even in these moments. 

My limited vocabulary would not allow me to adequately express the joy I felt as a mother  welcoming my second child (my baby girl) into our home. It did not take me very long to recognize that with this beautiful bundle of joy comes a major shift in every aspect of our lives. Our schedules were rearranged, there were constant demands and time spent with my older son seemed to dwindle.

Aware of the new challenges that this very major change would bring, I had a plan of action or so I thought. At an early age it was instilled in me that morning devotions were like a vaccination. This vaccination I concluded, would protect and help me withstand any challenges a day could bring. I soon realized that the shift also included my vaccination time. Not being able to cut out sufficient time at the beginning of each day made me feel as if I was lost and drifting far away from that still small voice of God.

I felt exposed and fearful that at any time the turmoil of life would just overtake me. My all or nothing approach to my devotional time caused me to look with disdain on a rushed word of prayer while I was busy attending to my motherly duties. I felt like I was disappointing God since He and I knew I was hurriedly rushing through the pages of the bible.

My motherly duties were competing with my need to spend quality time with God, but despite the pressing demands that came with my new reality, I still managed to be consistent with reading to my children their Sabbath school lesson.  A feeling of consolation swept through me as I reflected on my actions. It almost seemed as if I was saying “well I might be drifting from God but not you my children, you will stay close to him”.

Little did I know that studying God’s word for my children was as much for me as it was for them. Even though I was unable to fulfill my daily devotions the way I had grown accustomed  to, God did not expel me from His presence. He was still interested in me and would send a word of comfort when I really needed it.

The title of the lesson: “Paul and the shipwreck” immediately arrested my attention. In some ways this title was mirroring how I felt on the inside. Since I was suffering from the pangs of sleep depravity, I began reading the story emphatically while yielding the added benefits of allowing my children to remain interested. The story is recorded in Acts 27 and it tells of how Paul and the others were on a ship and the sea was calm when all of sudden a storm came and ravaged the ship. While everyone else around panicked Paul was calm. Unbeknownst to the others on the ship, an angel told Paul that not one of them would die but the ship would be lost.

As I sat there with my children enthused by the story and staring at the pictures, God spoke to me in a profound way. He pointed out that our lives are a lot like this story, there are times when everything in our life’s experience is going well. Then without a warning the storms of life inserts itself in the worse possible way. In this trying process we may lose our ship. Our ship may be our health, job, money, marriage, or even a loved one. God never promised that our ‘ship’ will always be speared the brunt of the storm, but we can claim the promise that during our time of despair, hopelessness, loss or time of spiritual drought that “whosoever call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom10:13).

These words from my children’s Sabbath school lesson were akin to “apples of gold in settings of silver”. Within a very short timeframe  of receiving these words of reassurance, I came face to face with my personal storms. Both my son and father were hospitalized at the same time. The demands of catering to their needs, the hospital visits and caring for my newborn began to take its toll on my body physically. I was not able to pray, meditate or do my bible studies, but God’s word stayed with me.

When I couldn’t carry myself anymore, God carried me upon His promises. His words of reassurance that “no power can take out of His (God) hands the souls that go to Him for pardon” (Patriarchs and Prophets 516) was held dear to my heart. It was right then I realized that it was never about my ability to hold on to God through my rituals but it was all about God’s ability to keep me through whatever circumstance I faced. I have now learned that my moments of quiet undisturbed quality time with God is not only meant to vaccinate me against the storms of life but it also keeps me in times of drought. The word was hid in my heart and when I needed it most, it spoke and said “I will never leave you nor forsake you”(Hebrews 13:5).

About the writer: Roxanne McKoy-Chambers is a mother, wife, friend and sister who enjoys sharing the word of God both in writing and through the  spoken word. A teacher by profession, Roxanne enjoys her role in shaping the lives of future generations. She is also an international speaker who has traveled to several countries sharing the good news of salvation.

This guest post by Candice Williams is guaranteed to inspire you as you seek to chart your course for 2016. Candice Williams is a Nurse by profession but is also an excellent writer, wife, mother and friend. She is currently working as a missionary in the Federated States of Micronesia. Please read and be blessed.

New Year resolutions seems so simple but hard. Part of that commitment means to forget and forgive the past. Forgetting and forgiving means choosing to set you free on a course where the biggest obstacle is no longer the flashing neon sign that says “Me”. The solution to resolutions is not merely to make new ones, it is also choosing to let go of memories that invoke fear.

Such power they hold in controlling the mind, though dead they come alive to taunt and ridicule when attempting to do things anew. These memories are like “minions” of the mind and they don’t care if you try, as long as you do half your best and never fully achieve the success you’d hoped for. Then the recent “failure” is seized and used as an effective tool to wreak additional havoc.

In medicine the term croup-countercoup comes to mind, it is an injury involving the brain where both sides are damaged following a sudden impact. The side that received the initial impact (coup) or blow and the side opposite the initial impact (countercoup) occur when the force of the initial blow is so great that it causes brain damage at the site where the brain hits the skull. Then the force of this “initial impact” causes additional damage as the brain moves in the opposite direction hitting the other side of the skull. I liken it to the brain playing “ping pong” within the skull.

Similarly in life, our initial experiences serves as the impact and the force of that experience hitting against us causes pain, and rightly so; however, further injustice is done when we allow that painful experience to control us, forging us into a weapon used against ourselves. No other weapon is as effective and proves to be as fatal! That is why it is necessary to forget. Forget what is behind and forge ahead, isn’t that what the apostle Paul said (Philippians 3:13)? Paul knew that a life well lived is a life straining towards a mark, a life with purpose.

Forget that you’ve tried a hundred times before, and try once more with the same excitement, the same determination as if it were the first time. Next, forgive yourself and forgive yourself again! I’m sure you haven’t met the 70 times 7 quota. It’s not just meant for others. Humbly look into that mirror and pardon “you”.  This gift called the “present” is meant to be seized. Be fully committed to the here and now because herein lies the power to awaken desire and the will once awakened is a great force of nature, not to be trifled with! Do you have doubts? Have you seen the will of a two year old in action? Seize the moment! Gain victory after victory and strength will be added to resolve which in return towers over the failures of yesterday.

God has done this! God has given you my friend this incredible mind that can turn any failure into the best success story. Won’t you trust Him with the heart of a child to forgive and forget the past?

Mornings usually include waking up at 6:00 AM to have my private devotion and then to wake the girls up by 6:30 AM to get started on their day. So as to be on time, I have allotted a 2-3 minute buffer for this activity since I must daily debate, I must argue and ultimately convince them that going to school is important and waking up at that time is not an option. My husband has a much easier time and just at the mention of their individual names they awaken from the deepest slumber with such ease. Since nature has not granted me that deep, full voice that vibrates even to the panels of the wooden floor, I’ve accepted this daily struggle. Amidst all the chaos that follows, intermittently my eyes would gaze at the clock to see whether or not I am on track in my morning routine. Every activity down to the girls unscheduled bathroom trips has an allotted time.

It’s inconceivable to be out of sync, as my whole day depends on the seamless execution of my morning ritual. There have been times where just a couple of minutes off proved to be disastrous to the rest of my day. Traffic signals stand still, no parking at the school for drop off, and honking horns remind me of my failure to be true to my timeline and for me, my day can kick start or die at a specific location. That place is none other than Old Swede Road. Old Swede Road is a major thoroughfare that can make or ruin mornings, and what’s more it has the power to spread its deadly tentacles to send the rest of my day to hell. To hell because that’s what it feels like stuck behind a school bus going 25mph on a road meant to be driven at 45mph! There is no redemption and I’m left with time to think of the million ways I could have avoided this undesirable encounter with Old Swede Road.

You may be laughing at the frivolity of this morning ritual but it is a hypothesis that has been tested and proven. Like clock-work (pun intended), whenever I miss this important milestone I find myself encountering more red lights on the way to school, then the school doors are shut so I have to ring the bell, then I just stand there waiting for the door to be opened, then my daughter seems flustered so I have to go in and make sure she’s fine and the list goes on and on and on. These delays further contribute to me arriving late for work and with a series of ongoing negative outcomes, my mood is thrown off and I mentally prepare myself for a very bad day.

Being able to successfully meet Old Swede Road within the desired timeframe is the key to the success of my days, weeks, months and even years! On one occasion, I sought to share this ritual with a friend and the word she used describe it was “sabotage”. As soon as the word descended from her lips I had an epiphany. She was right! I was sabotaging my days by making my mornings the barometer through which I gauged my entire day. In anticipation of a day that was ruined, my mind was already programmed in a negative way. Achieving something great that would have normally taken little effort now seemed impossible due to the bad start. I had successfully used my disappointment in a minuscule area as a crutch to hang my failures upon, and in one sweep robbed the other activities of my day from the positive energy that I would have normally given it.

Can you identify your Old Swede Road? How many times have your days, or life been thrown off by one event that was considered to be a failure? How many days that turned into weeks did you allow an argument to dictate your mood? Could your Old Swede Road be that childhood experience that left you grief-stricken, broken, lost, or abused? Is it the academic goals you failed to achieve before arriving at a certain age? Is it that goal weight that you have been working on since the birth of your first child who is passed the age to blame? Could it be the mistake you made as a wife, mother, sister or child that has left wounds that will last a lifetime? And are these events preventing you from living a wholesome life? Do you feel that because of these failures everything else in life deserves little or no effort?

As justifiable as it may seem in our human experience to make excuses for the outcome of our lives, based failures, hurt or disappointment encountered, there are lessons to be gleaned from the life of the prodigal son. The prodigal son chose failure. Though not all at once, his life was a downward spiral and every day the decisions he made sunk him lower. It seemed that he couldn’t get past the junction of his “Old Swede Road” when he entreated the father to give him his portion of the inheritance. I imagine that the day of that exchange kept playing like a broken record in his mind, and only when he stood at death’s door did he have the gumption to face that junction once more. His life my friend, provides a stark reminder that as humans we are going to do what humans do we fail. We fail to meet deadlines! We fail to attain our goals! We fail to say the right things to the ones we love! Let’s admit that we are all failures, but mercy says we don’t have to stay there! And we shouldn’t need a brush with death to awaken us either! Boldly come to the throne pleading for mercy to pardon you and grace to empower you to live a victorious life (Heb 4:16). The Father has His arms wide open and in His arms  we can lay down our burdens.

So you’ll be glad to know that Old Swede Road remains the same, but the difference is me. I don’t know about you but I am ready to forget the mistakes and failures of 2015. I am ready to walk into 2016 anticipating great things! I am not interested in sabotaging my progress by entertaining a negative mindset. I am ready to be “transformed by the renewing of my mind”, to bask in God’s bounteous love that extends beyond my mortal weaknesses. To walk in the positive and my Old Swede Road experience will no more prevent me from doing that, how about you?