Too Blessed To Be Stressed

EVEN SUPER MOM NEEDS TO KNOW WHEN TO BE STILL

Greetings, my friends!

I am sitting here thinking about my children and how often they refer to me as "Super Mom". This came about because I am always on the go with one or both of them, in addition to working full-time, and having a ministry serving women and their families.

I find that there are "super moms" and "super women", and we are always on the go! We are always bustling here; bustling there; and hustling here and there. We are at work multi-tasking, taking the children to their practices and their games, attending PTA meetings, taking care of the household, and when we do get around to taking a break, we realized that we need a Word from the Lord; we need a blessing from the Lord to carry us through; and we needed it like yesterday!

As this month of March is being celebrated as Women's Month, my hat goes off to God's women who are making a positive difference at home, at school, at work, at church, and in their communities. However, even God's women, the Super Moms, the First Lady of a church get discouraged; get tired; get hell on the job and off the job; and get stricken with sickness. A God's woman knows that when all hell breaks loose, she has to take time out and just be still so she can get that Word and receive that blessing from the Lord.

When we are in dire need of help, when the enemy is attacking from every side, when lies are told on us, when sickness overtakes our bodies, we just need to be still. We do not need to take on everything and everyone all by ourselves.God is bigger than any Superman or Superwoman. Psalm 46:10 tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." (KJV)

When we are still, we are able to hear God's answer, we are able to receive HIS blessing, and we are able to interpret and understand HIS Word. When we are still, God will be glorified through our stillness because we are letting go and letting HIM be God all by Himself. Sisters, we know that we have responsibilities like no other. However, sometimes God just wants us to be still so HE can take care of us, spiritually, physically, financially, and emotionally. When we take time out, we can go to the Lord in prayer. We know what the Apostle Paul encourages us in Philippians 4:6-7. He tells us to "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (KJV) Glory. When we are still, and let God, our hearts and our minds will be stayed on Jesus Christ! We will have that peace that is even unspeakable. Hallelujah.

Sisters, it is okay for us to take off our "Super Mom" or "Superwoman" cape. You see, God is the only SUPER! Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8, KJV) Amen.

Yolanda Adams | NEW single "Be Still"

Greetings!

The below is a poem that I have in my "Encouragement File" and I pull out every now and then to remind myself of just what a gold mine I am, all because of Jesus Christ. Jesus washed away my sins and cleanse me white as snow! Glory.

This is dedicated to women who may be feeling discouraged about one thing or another. You are complete because you have Jesus in your life.

"Because" by Bishop TD Jakes

Just because no one has been fortunate enough to
realize what a gold mine you are,
Doesn't mean you shine less

Just because no one has been smart enought to figure out
that you can't be topped,
Doesn't stop you from being the best.

Just because no one has come along to share your life,
Doesn't mean that day isn't coming.

Just because no one has made this race worthwhile,
Doesn't give you permission to stop running.

Just because no one has realized how much of an
awesome woman you are,
Doesn't mean they can affect your femininity.

Just because no one has shown up who can love you on
your level,
Doesn't mean you have to sink to theirs.

Just because you deserve the very best there is,
Doesn't mean that life is always fair.

Just because God is still preparing your king,
Doesn't mean that you're not already a Queen.

Just because your situation doesn't seem to be progressing right now,
Doesn't mean you need to change a thing.

Keep shining, keep running, keep hoping, and keep praying,
Keep being exactly what you are already. COMPLETE!!

Respect For Women

The Bible is so rich with the stories and miracles of women; those named and unnamed; women that the authors of the Bible wrote about with such passion. My favorite women as a team are Ruth and Naomi. (Book of Ruth) The story of Ruth and Naomi teach us about love, respect, loyalty and true friendship between mother/daughter/mother-in-law/daughter-in-law. It teaches and shows us as women how we should treat other women. Naomi the elder taught Ruth about God, carried herself in such a way that Ruth followed her back to her homeland. Ruth saw God in Naomi and respected her so much. Naomi, through her love and faithfulness to God, led Ruth to give up the pagan gods and turn her ways to those of the Lord. Ruth had much respect for the elder Naomi and took her every advice. As God's fifth commandment says in Exodus 20:12, "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." (KJV)

We find in Titus 2:1,3-5, specific instructions on how we should treat each other as women. "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." (KJV)

Sisters, let us treat each other with love and respect, and let us speak life into each other.


Your Sister-in-Christ
Therese from Belize

International Women's Day

Today is being celebrated as International Women's Day. As I reflect on women who have made a difference, I must thank God for my mother, Mrs. Marva Wright. My Mom worked very hard, domestic worker, to ensure that we attain an education, that we had food on the table, clean clothes to wear and shoes on our feet. I thank God for my Mom because she made sure we attended church, she made sure we prayed, she made sure we knew about Jesus Christ. I personally saw my Mom praying, day in, day out. As a child growing up, my mother always spoke life into us. She always told us, she will do whatever she can to help us to become great women and she meant that and she did. My mother is a true diva.

Christian author and inspirational speaker, Michelle McKinney Hammond in her book, The Diva Principle, stated that "A true Diva is a woman who knows that life is not about her, but rather the contribution she makes to others around her and the legacy she will leave behind.” from The Diva Principle, 2004. My mother's light shines because the SON shines in her.


Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (KJV)


Women in the Bible that I admire are Ruth (molded by her mother-in-law, Naomi); Esther (molded by her cousin Mordecai, later became Queen and helped her people); Abigail,wife of Nabal, mentioned in the Bible as a woman of beautiful countenance, intelligence and beauty; Hannah, the praying Sister (she went to the Lord in prayer instead of attacking her adversary).

Heavenly Father, I just thank you for women who are making a difference in the lives of those around. I thank you for my mother and for women like her who support and encourage their children. Please continue to shower them with your love, mercy, grace and please keep showering them with wisdom to teach their daughters. I pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

"WHEN I SAY, 'I'M A CHRISTIAN'"

In honor of women's month, I find it fitting to share a poem written by Ms. Carol Wimmer. Ms. Wimmer said that her heart was heavy as she wrote the poem, When I say, “I am a Christian. ” The year was 1988, she said, and she had begun to sense an increasing societal resentment toward the attitude of self-righteousness that has been adopted by so many Christians. Ms .Wimmer stated that she knew such behavior was and is a perversion of Christianity. She indicated that the sentiment of the poem was born out of her personal awareness of this perversion and the heartache it can cause in our pluralistic society.


WHEN I SAY, "I AM A CHRISTIAN"

When I say, "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting, "I’ve been saved!"
I'm whispering, "I get lost!
That's why I chose this way"

When I say, "I am a Christian"
I don't speak with human pride
I'm confessing that I stumble—
Needing God to be my guide

When I say, "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong
I'm professing that I'm weak
And pray for strength to carry on

When I say, "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success
I'm admitting that I've failed
And cannot ever pay the debt

When I say, "I am a Christian"
I don't think I know it all
I submit to my confusion
Asking humbly to be taught

When I say, "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect
My flaws are all too visible
But God believes I'm worth it

When I say, "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartache,
Which is why I seek His name

When I say, "I am a Christian"
I do not wish to judge
I have no authority...
I only know I'm loved

Used by Permission
Copyright 1988 Carol Wimmer

WOMEN'S EDUCATION - WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

The National Women's History Program states, "Although women now outnumber men in American colleges nationwide, the reversal of the gender gap is a very recent phenomenon. The fight to learn was a valiant struggle waged by many tenacious women—across years and across cultures—in our country. After the American Revolution, the notion of education as a safeguard for democracy created opportunities for girls to gain a basic education—based largely on the premise that, as mothers, they would nurture not only the bodies but also the minds of (male) citizens and leaders. The concept that educating women meant educating mothers endured in America for many years, at all levels of education.

Pioneers of secondary education for young women faced arguments from physicians and other “experts” who claimed either that females were incapable of intellectual development equal to men, or that they would be harmed by striving for it. Women’s supposed intellectual and moral weakness was also used to argue against coeducation, which would surely be an assault on purity and femininity. Emma Willard, in her 1819 Plan for Improving Female Education, noted with derision the focus of women’s “education” on fostering the display of youth and beauty, and asserted that women are “the companions, not the satellites of men”—“primary existences” whose education must prepare them to be full partners in life’s journey.

While Harvard, the first college chartered in America, was founded in 1636, it would be almost two centuries before the founding of the first college to admit women—Oberlin, which was chartered in 1833. And even as “coeducation” grew, women’s courses of study were often different from men’s, and women’s role models were few, as most faculty members were male. Harvard itself opened its “Annex” (Radcliffe) for women in 1879 rather than admit women to the men’s college—and single-sex education remained the elite norm in the U.S. until the early 1970s. As coeducation took hold in the Ivy League, the number of women’s colleges decreased steadily; those that remain still answer the need of young women to find their voices, and today’s women’s colleges enroll a far more diverse cross-section of the country than did the original Seven Sisters.

The equal opportunity to learn, taken for granted by most young women today, owes much to Title IX of the Education Codes of the Higher Education Act Amendments. This legislation, passed in 1972 and enacted in 1977, prohibited gender discrimination by federally funded institutions. It has become the primary tool for women's fuller participation in all aspects of education from scholarships, to facilities, to classes formerly closed to women. Indeed, it transformed the educational landscape of the United States within the span of a generation." (www.nwhp.org, 2012)

Encourage a sister to return to school to attain higher education, complete high school, vocational and/or techical college.

God bless,
Therese from Belize

Richard Smallwood with Vision-Trust Me

Keas Tabernacle C.M.E. Women's Conference on March 17, 2012

Sisters, Keas Tabernacle C.M.E. of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky will be holding its Fourth Annual Women's Conference! Yours truly is the speaker for this conference.

Sisters will be gathering to give God glory and discuss in sisterly love why as God's women we are too blessed to be stressed! Romans 8:17, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (KJV)

I hope to see you there.

Yours in Christ
Therese from Belize

Women Encouraging Other Women

Greetings, my friends, in the name of Jesus!

I am writing today with a heart that has been enduring. An enduring heart because I believe and trust in Christ. I know that whatever struggles of every kind -sickness, financial, marital, psychological and even biological, we meet, we must learn how to exchange them with God. When we exchange our burdens with God, we are getting rid of our pride, shame and fear. We are set free, we are delivered by the blood of the Lamb. I do not know if you are experiencing the same thing as I am, but it just seems lately that women are really being tried by the devil. However, the Lord wants me to tell you that He is a Deliverer, He will set you free from all bondage and shame. Ephesians 3:20, "With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask for or imagine."

Dr. Ellen Marmon of Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky, had encouraged us as women that we should provide encouragement, commitment, time and energy to other women, to those less fortunate than us, to those who are struggling in their spiritual life; to those who are trying to get out of abusive relationships. My friends, we read about numerous women in the Bible who had uncompromising faith; those who helped other women. There were the prophetess, Anna (she fasted, she prayed, she was always preaching and talking about Jesus); Mary and Martha (the two sisters who loved Jesus, they invited other women to their house to listen to Christ teach); Lois and Eunice (Timothy's Mom and Grandmother, two women who loved the Lord and had undeniable faith); Huldah the prophetess, who helped people to understand what the Bible means); Elizabeth and Mary (these two women encouraged each other during their time of pregnancies).

Rev. Maxine Thomas, Assistant Pastor of St. Paul AME, Lexington, Kentucky in her Bible study, a Series of Fortunate Events, said that as women we must look for a sister to encourage and inspire because as women, we need to encourage one another. Rev. Thomas said that as women when we get "pregnant" in the Spirit, no one can take away that pregnancy so we must not feel or act threatened by other women, but instead we must reach out to them. We must stop neglecting and failing to accept another sister's divinity.

Are you encouraging a woman today?

Blessings,
Therese from Belize