Protecting God’s Gifts

Main Scripture: Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Psalms 127:3 (NIV)

 Music to meditate on: Greatest Love of All -Whitney Houston (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYzlVDlE72w)

“Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you and their souls the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands. Take time with them; teach them to have faith in God. Be a person in whom they can have faith. When you are old, nothing else you've done will have mattered as much.” ― Lisa Wingate

Today’s scripture and the quote above reminds  us that children are a gift from God, however it is quite concerning that children are not always treated with the greatest of care. The late Whitney Houston says in today’s song that “children are our future, we should teach them well and let them lead the way”, however around the world children are abused, neglected and even sold as slaves.

Ladies as mothers and caretakers we are responsible for taking care of and nurturing our children. We are responsible for our future. Children are the future leaders of this world, they are the future educators but they are also the future terrorists and murderers. How we train and treat our children will determine what they become. Nelson Mandela said that, “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.” Watch the way we treat our children and that will tell us what lies in our hearts.

Today we can be a significant change, the bible instructs us to “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The good book also encourages us “provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”  Let us show our children love today, nurture them and train them well.

An old African proverb says that “it takes a whole village to raise a child.” Although you may not have a child, help to grow at least one, become active in forging the future of a child today.

Let’s Pray

Our Father, your word tells us that our offspring are a reward from you. Thank you Father for blessing us with these precious gifts. Remind us Lord that at all times they are our responsibility and that they are our future. Give us the will and desire to take care of our children by nurturing and loving them. For those of us who don’t know how, Lord teach us and protect our children from the wickedness of this world.

In Jesus Name

Amen

Have a God Filled Day Ladies

Leaving a Legacy

Main Scripture: A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children…

Music to meditate on: Leave a Legacy by Aaron and Jeoffrey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCMNjaIXjwA)

Have you ever given thought about how your children, family, friends and community will remember you?

Today’s scripture tells us that a good person leaves an inheritance or legacy for their children’s children. Note that it did not just say children. Therefore whatever legacy you leave behind – negative or positive - will have an effect not just on your children but, on their children, their children’s children and many generations after them.

According to the Mirriam-Webster online dictionary a legacy is a:

·         gift by will especially of money or other personal property or,

·       something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past.

As such, according to the second definition we all have the power to leave a legacy.  Ladies will your legacy be a good one or a positive one? Shannon L. Alder said “Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you. “

I can remember at my father’s funeral, I looked on all of my siblings and thought that my father’s legacy was on all of our faces; wherever you see one of his children you see a smile, just like my father. He taught us to share, if he had one mango it would be shared for all of us, today we can call on each other for anything because he taught us to support and love each other in all circumstances.

Ladies, today I’m encouraging you to consider the legacy you are leaving for your generations. What will you carve on the hearts of others today?

Consider the following:

• ·         Are you a winner or a quitter
• ·         Are you a person who takes care of others, or do you lead a self-centered life
• ·    Is your  life one of great achievements, or a life with no ambition and goals
• ·         Do you have or desire to create money and great wealth, or do you have extreme debt from poor money management
• ·         Are you a successful business person, or a job hopper
• ·         Do you live a life of peace and self-confidence, or a life of fear, worry and anxiety
• ·         Do you foster a God-centered home, or a self-centered life - independent of God
• ·         Are you a person of encouraging words, or a person of gossip
• ·   Is your life directed by God’s principles, or by man’s principles, or by alcoholism, drug abuse or pornography
• ·         Are you a person who loves family time, or a person devoted to work
• ·   Is your life based on honesty, or a life of dishonesty or even illegal ventures
• ·         Are you a loving mother and father, or a parent who abandoned a spouse and child
• ·      Do you foster a loving family environment that will last a lifetime, or a life of quitting relationships when they get tough
• ·         Do you foster a happy home, or a broken home leading to a long distance relationship due to divorce and custody arrangements

I certainly would like to leave a good legacy for my generations to come; I have started by living a life directed by God’s principles. I also try to encourage everyone I impact to do the same and try to make a difference in the lives of others by inspiring them to realize their full potential.

Ladies, only you can decide what legacy you will leave behind, what you do today will affect the lives of many. Strive to leave a good legacy for the sake of generations to come.

Let’s Pray,

Lord God thank you for opening up our eyes today about what we pass on to our generation. Father, help us to leave a good legacy for our children so that generations to come will be affected in a positive way by that legacy.

In Jesus Name

Amen

Have a God Filled Weekend Ladies