Fighting The Good Fight!

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I Timothy 6:9-12 NIV

How do we measure progress when we're doing something for the first time? What standard becomes our benchmark? We're still determining our direction with our boot camp.

What we didn't anticipate is a change in our scheduling that makes this attempt almost futile. I say, almost because I'm not one who gives up easily at the first sign of adversity. Unexpected events have taken me away from home during the crucial hours of our scheduling and that has thrown everything off course. But still we muddle forward. Leaving written instructions for someone to follow without being in their presence is not the same as being right there.

While we're learning how to adapt our methodology and accomplish our goal, I get a better glimpse of how God views us. Though He has set out the guidelines for us to follow in His Word, if we are not totally cognizant of His presence--at all times, we veer off track.

This then, is how we fight the good fight of faith. We must remember at all times, He is a very present help in our midst and we must look to Him for direction in all things. ALL things--every little thing--and never take Him for granted because He knows when we're faltering in our own wisdom and when we allow Him to guide us--we cannot go wrong.

So, instead of relying upon my memory for the first breakfast of this boot camp, I should have consulted Him--who would have reminded me to look it up and all ingredients would have been included. Had I consulted Him about the week of our plans, He would have provided me with insight as to what else would occur in our lives.

What to do, what to do! Adjust--all plans and determine if there is a need for continuation for another week or even for the next month--one day at a time. I'm waiting to hear but I will continue to provide the necessary building blocks that will ensure my grandson will thrive and be able to resist the temptations that are bound to be put before him.

Lord, though we know to seek Your wisdom in all things, sometimes we think we can handle the minor details without You. Thank You for bringing us back to the realization that You are our focus and without You, involved in all things, we can do nothing. Thank You for reviving us and strengthening to continue the good fight--every day!

Expecting From The Lord!

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. I Chronicles 4:10 NIV

So, the first day of boot camp didn't quite turn out the way we wanted it to work.

The breakfast I had planned was a miserable fail (baked omelette). Apparently, I forgot something needed in the recipe and we ended up with cheesy egg toast. 

Lunch was chicken salad, which for me was enhanced by using the cheesy egg toast for an open-faced sandwich.

Dinner--well, I have no idea since I didn't eat dinner and left the others to their own devices.  We'll get better as we go along--I hope.

A rocky start, but most of what we wanted to accomplish for day one--achieved.

Grandson is reading and analyzing specific passages of scriptures, relating them to daily living and other literature designed to open his eyes and open dialogue with us.

More next time--keep praying!

Lord, keep us focused on our task and always dependent upon You and enlarge our understanding of how to move forward in such a way that not only will our grandson learn a valuable lesson, but we will, too.

This Is It!

It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD. This is the day I have spoken of. Ezekiel 39:8 NIV

For the next few days, this blog will hit a little closer to home. We're conducting a boot camp (of sorts) to teach my grandson a lesson in "fortitude" and staying the course of being right even in the wrong places with the wrong people.

We have a schedule beginning from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. detailing what we're doing each hour or block of time set out. He won't have any free time until 4:00 p.m. and then we enter into our evening schedule of events until time for him to go to be 10:00 p.m.

When we love our children or grandchildren, sometimes we have to take "extreme" measures to get that message across to them in order to help them develop the skills and tools they're going to need to survive--teenage years, young adulthood into mature adulthood.

So, we including exercises to build mental fortitude, physical fortitude, emotional fortitude and spiritual fortitude. I'm sure I'll have to say in the coming days about what worked, how it worked and what adjustments we needed to make to ensure the outcome we expect.

We're trying to help him develop critical thinking skills and how to react to adverse situations that could cost him his life.

Pray for us while we take this unknown journey--striving to reach the finish line of excellence so he'll be ready for The Master's use!

This is the day!

Avoiding The Pitfalls!

Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company;for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble. By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength. Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers. Wisdom is too high for fools; in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths. Proverbs 24:1-7 NIV

There are some snares and pitfalls we can avoid in life, IF we simply take the time to think about what we do--BEFORE we do it. This is not a one-time lesson in life, but an on-going life lesson we must learn, if we are to survive to share our testimonies of how we overcame.

For teenagers--the path to adulthood is an obstacle course--at every turn, they must watch for the snares and pitfalls that are waiting to keep them from enjoying success as an adult. Those snares and pitfalls come in the form of "wrong" friends and giving into the influence that peers force upon others--if they want to be "cool."

Being "cool" is not always the best route to take to navigate high school or in some cases--middle school. For the peer pressure comes earlier and earlier and even in some elementary schools--kids are pressured to join in or be square.

I've been there, but I was considered square because I wasn't interested in doing anything that could get me in trouble with my mother. "Back in the day" as some would say, at 14 years-old, I had the responsibility of taking care of my brothers and sister after school. It was my responsibility to make sure dinner was cooked (meat, vegetables and a starch), everyone ate, and kitchen cleaned before my mother got home from work. When things went wrong at home and she wasn't there, I handled it--from the ninth--through eleventh grades--I ran the house. My mother worked two jobs to support us and even though she wasn't around much, she had instilled a fear in us that made sure we didn't get into trouble. But then, I was raised in a community of less than 200 people and everyone knew everyone's business, so there was little chance of getting away with anything.

That's not the case today. Kids have greater obstacles to withstand if they're strong enough and wise enough to stand up to their peers. The experimentation with drugs and sex can be overwhelming and the temptation to great to resist, but we must teach them how and show them by example--how to win in life. It's not easy, but it is necessary. The first obstacle we must teach them to overcome is how to survive in a drug-culture in the schools. Drugs are prevalent everywhere--and it doesn't matter if it is an affluent or an impoverished community--the more access to money kids have, the greater the likelihood that kids will move from the cheap drugs to the more expensive ones.  But illegal drugs--are bad news--for everyone and we see the results from the crime in the streets, to the overdoses in the hospitals.

So, while we're praying for them to successfully navigate the murky waters of temptation, we must also teach--and re-teach  them how to be confident enough in who God has called them to be, that they can resist the temptation of the evil set before them, and not be concerned about what others think.

Lord, be merciful unto us as leaders in churches, parents, and school administrators and give us wisdom--abundantly--so we can help our children live and succeed as You would have them to do.

Conversing With Purpose!

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.  But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:13-18 NIV

As I review scripture, seeking a Word from The Lord, I often come across passages that speak to me more clearly from one translation to the other, but I also find that sometimes, one word--changed--can change the meaning of what is being said.

We know that James was conscious of what happens when we say the wrong things or allow our tongues free reign in our live. The 13th verse of this passage from the King James Version reminds us of this:"Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom."

What we say should have a purpose--a purpose towards building and not tearing down. Yesterday, at a luncheon geared towards mentoring our young people, some were asked, "What do you want adults to know about kids today?" The more I thought about it, the more I realized that adults seldom consider what kids are thinking and we tend to dismiss their thoughts and feelings simply because they are kids.

We ask them questions, but our reactions to them inhibit getting a true response from them. This happens when we don't give them time to think about what they want to say and since they don't respond as quickly as we want them to respond, we dismiss their positions without hearing it.

I've concluded that many of us tend to "talk at" kids rather than "talk to" them. This conclusion is made based upon the fact that we if don't know how to have a conversation with them and converse with a purpose, we are talking at them. When we interrupt them or cut them short--dismissing what they have to say before they have a chance to say it, we're talking at them, not to them.

The kids are wiser than we are in this regard in that they simply shut down and have nothing else to say. Why? We have shown them we have no respect for what they have to say and then we wonder why they don't respect what we have to say.

Truly, we need wisdom from above to give us purpose when we converse with our young people. The more we think about how God responds to us, the more we should attempt to be more like Him, no matter who we're conversing with. If God cut us off whenever we attempted to talk to Him, where would we be?

We need to learn to converse with kids and others with a purpose--talking to them, not at them, and waiting patiently to hear what they have to say. Who is wise, with understanding?

Elevated Hijinks (Excerpt 1)

Tony was watching through the window while Natasha was upstairs in her room laying down. Nadia’s phone rang as soon they walked in the door and she motioned to the others to go into the den, with Tony leading the way. She pushed the speaker button when she answered the phone.

“Hello, Katie. What did you find out?”

“Natasha wasn’t stung by a bee unless the bee ingested Apenadrylophene for lunch. We need to get X-rays of her arm and see if we can determine where the injection site is. Unless she’s bathed or showered there may some trace evidence at the site. Can you bring her in now?”

“Yes, we can. Battle, Tyson, and Tiffany are with us. How long do we have before the drug breaks down and can’t be detected?”

“We’ve got about a four-hour window from the time she was injected to get any testable residue. Don’t delay.”

“We won’t, but we’ve got to talk to Tony and Natasha to get a fix on the time it took for the events to unfold so we can start searching for our boys.”

“I understand and I know you’ll find them, but we really need to get her in here, soon.”

“Within the hour. Thanks,” and she ended the call.

“We have to talk fast so we can get Natasha into the lab for X-rays. As you heard, Katie found Apenadrylophene in her blood sample, which means, she was injected with it and what she thought was a bee sting was actually a needle prick,” Nadia said, pacing the floor.

Battle watched her for a moment. “Swatere, sit down and breathe. We’ve got this.”

“What? What have you got?” Nadia shrilled, still pacing.

“You take Natasha into the lab, we’ll talk to Tony and while you’re with Natasha, you can question her about what she saw and if she remembers anyone close enough to her that might have been a threat,” Tiffany said.

Tony stood in the middle of the room running his fingers through his hair absentmindedly. He was frazzled and it showed. “Yeah, go ahead and take her in. I’ll do my best to remember what happened before I got back to her.”

Looking frantically, at everyone in the room, Nadia sighed, turned and left to get Natasha.

“Okay! Tony, we need you to think. Do you remember anyone standing next to you and Natasha before you left to get the car?” Battle asked. Tyson had pulled out a notepad while Tiffany turned on her tablet, ready to type. 

He shrugged. “No, I don’t think so. I was too busy watching the boys play.”

“Not good enough!” Battle growled through clenched teeth, getting in Tony’s face. “When I said think, I mean think. Close your eyes for a minute, and allow yourself to go back to that disco fence. You had to see someone when you turned to leave. Think man!”

  myBook.to/ElevatedHijinks

[First four chapters can be read free on Amazon.]

Chicken, Hawk, or Eagle!

 If someone was to ascribe to you the attributes of a bird—which of these would it be?

Are you grounded, digging in the dirt for what you can find to eat, being manipulated by others to be “a tasty meal” for all to enjoy?

Are you a predator, always on the lookout for that “live one” who’ll be your next victim?

Are you flying above the fray of everyday life, looking down, seeing what’s going on, but not allowing the events to distract or deter you, knowing that sooner or later, the predators will leave behind a morsel that will meet your needs?

Think about these birds. The chicken is food for the hawk and the hawk could be food for the eagle, but the eagle—soaring in the sky—refusing to be caught up in the mundane—seeks elevation for safety, but can hone in on the details below and strike with efficiency—what is intended for them to have.

Which are you? The mediocre chicken—just waiting to be eaten; the hawk who preys upon its live victims or the eagle—who can wait for what is rightfully due them when they can see it from above?

Reading, Reading!

Don't forget to check out the books on http://www.amazon.com/Mary-M-Hall-Rayford/e/B00BAW31CQ/  Something for everyone!

Unkle Adams - I Am Stronger (Official Anti-Bullying Music Video)

Why We Praise Him!

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9 NIV).

Do you remember playing games in school or in your neighborhood that meant you on a team?  We decided who would be the team captains and they "chose" who they wanted on their teams and many of us, stood waiting, almost breathlessly, hoping to be chosen to play on the team that was going to win. Remember that feeling?  When it got down to the last few to be chosen, the person choosing was resigned to accept the fact they would have a few people on their team that were not the best players.  The people being chosen last, usually did not feel good about themselves.  They knew they were on certain teams by default--not real choice.

We don't have to worry about that now!  Hallelujah!  We are chosen by the Creator and He has no favorites, no respect of persons, and on His team, we are all guaranteed winners!  Knowing this, "that He who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it"! Glory to God! We are special to God and because of who He is, we are royalty, and we have a right to praise Him--all day and all night!  Whenever we want to declare His goodness and mercy, we can and we should!  It is He who called us out of darkness (our habits of sin) and into His wonderful light (knowing Truth and The Light)!  Praise Him!  He loves us enough to keep us focused on Him and in drawing others into The Light.  Hallelujah!  What an awesome God! 

Is there anybody else like Him?  No, not one!  No one else who could forward into history and plan our destiny to be a praise unto Him.  No one else who could forget about all we did--that was not like Him, and forgive us and use us to His glory!  Nobody like Him who refuses to give up on us when we falter, but instead gives us strength to keep going!  Nobody like Him!  No, not one! Nobody else who gives us new mercies, every single morning!  Nobody else who can give us favor with others when they don't even understand why they support our efforts!  Nobody else!  There is none like Him in all the earth!  He alone is worthy of all our praise!  Hallelujah!

Thank You God for choosing us to be on Your Team, Your Special team of people who do declare unto the nations Your praise!