Tag:

homes

Here’s How God Has Been Meeting People In Homes

by Rhoda Gayle February 1, 2022

written by Rhoda Gayle

Here is how God has been meeting people in homes during the pandemic.

God Meeting With People

In an episode of The Cry with host Betty King, guest Rachel Hickson talks about God meeting people right in their homes during this season. During the past years, when the pandemic hit almost every country, many of us are forced to stay at home. Almost everything was put into a pause. Though it may seem to be a tough season, the Lord has been doing something in our hearts during that season.

“I believe that during this time, we’ve had such an opportunity to connect bridges with family, with people,” Rachel said.

Homes

She then proceed to share how she was able to ask a man about what he learned during the crisis season. That man was a father to a daughter. He proceeded to share with Rachel how he almost lost her daughter because of her busy schedule. But during the lockdown, he was able to spend time with her daughter and catch up on all the things he missed as a father.

“I talked to a father the other day and I said, ‘What have you learned during this crisis season?’ And he’s learned, ‘I could have lost my daughter, but actually, being slowed down helped me find her.’”

Even in our own homes, God is meeting us there. He is doing great things in our own homes and families. God wants us to move in our first ministry, our family.

“God has been meeting people in our homes, but we cannot turn our back on this all. I believe it’s not just about ‘Can we open our church and get everyone,’ you know we can have 50 in church or 100 in church or we want 500. But, let’s not turn our back on our own flesh and blood, those being born.”

Here’s How God Has Been Meeting People In Homes | The Cry with Betty King and Rachel Hickson

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February 1, 2022 0 comment

Parenting Breakthrough: I Am Not Responsible for My Children’s Happiness

by Marina Magdalena November 3, 2017

written by Marina Magdalena

Marina Magdalena hosts the Mum Show on GOD TV which aims to provide a grace-filled, soul-searching look at being a mum in today’s world. In this post Marina shares a parenting breakthrough she had recently.

At any given moment I can have a child sulking because they don’t have a particular game they want, and another in a grump because it’s too wet to go on the scooters – and that is ok. I can have a child in a bad mood because they are over tired and another grouchy because it’s just been a long day – that is also ok! We can have an amazing day out and on our return have one in a temper because of how loudly their sibling is breathing, whilst the other one is cross that they don’t have sufficient leg room in the car. My children at this point are not happy, and that is ok! How many times have we, as parents, spent money on our children we cannot afford, or permitted boundaries to be broken because we feel responsible for our children’s happiness? Well, I am officially alleviating myself of that pressure right now – from here on in, it is not my job to keep my children in a perpetual state of happiness!

Happiness, like all emotions, will come and go like waves. My job is to teach my children to surf these waves and not be overcome by them. I do not get to orchestrate what waves come next, how long for and in what order. I cannot follow them around making sure their happy tanks are overflowing – and neither should I! Happiness is an emotion often idolised by humans, with huge time and money devoted to the pursuit of finding a happiness that lasts. Yet with all this chasing after an elusive sense of “happy”, we can separate ourselves from the ever constant source of Joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 says: “This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

The Joy of the Lord is not determined by or given from the world. It is not created, removed or reshaped by external factors. It is not an emotion or switch that can be flicked on and off. Joy is the understanding that Gods love for you is all-encompassing and unconditional, it is knowing that nothing you do will make him love you more or less, it is being both fully known and fully loved. If I want to help my children grow strong in joy, I need them to know that they are wholly loved, accepted for who they are and that no matter what they do wrong, there is always a way back. I need to show them God’s grace when they mess up. I need to take time to discover how I can best demonstrate my love and be curious about who they are and what makes them tick. And when they are happy, that’s great! And if they’re not, joy will be their strength.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not for a minute suggesting that we walk around avoiding happiness! In fact, when God parents us with joy, he actively encourages us to couple it with celebration. For instance in Esther, “There was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating.” Esther 8:17, or King David’s proclamation in Psalm 27, “At his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord” Psalm 27:6. Heaven itself is prone to a good party,

“I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:7

Our joy in the Lord is a transaction of the heart, but the bi product of this transaction is an environment of celebration, praise, singing, eating and getting together. This is the part where, as parents, we can become culture creators of joy. We can set a table for our families to enjoy feasting at, we can celebrate each other, even when there is seemingly little new to celebrate. We can sing, dance, play sports, bring out a board game, tell stories, try new things together to cultivate a sense that in this family “we do joy!” Whilst we cannot be our families source of happiness and ensure they have every want or desire, we can create homes that celebrate life, that notice blessing, that give credence to fun and permission for our time together to feel like an occasion. Proverbs 17:22 tells us, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” The word of God reveals not only the strength that comes from Joy, it even signposts us to the health benefits too. Sometimes having a giggle is all we need to change our thinking and re-energise our hearts, and it is the same for our children. So whilst I’m shaking off the chains of being my family’s source of “Happy,” I do plan to become a greater nurturer of joy. From today I plan to be silly, be fun, go on adventures and let life-giving laughter be rich in my family’s DNA!

The Mum Show airs on GOD TV on Mondays at 9pm. It is produced by the Promise Collective, founded by Marina Magdalena and features child therapist, Emma Browne and Life Church leader, Clare Hooper. Click to watch the Mum Show now on demand.

November 3, 2017 0 comment

Faith

Will You Be Ready for the Inspection?

by Daphne Delay September 17, 2017

written by Daphne Delay

Will You Be Ready for the Inspection?

My family recently moved into a new house.

And before you judge my next few sentences, I want you to pay attention to the illustration I believe the Holy Spirit wants all of us to understand.

Our new home is beautiful. It’s a Victorian style with a wrap-around porch. One of the things I love about it is the coziness of its architecture. We lived in it three months before I hung a single picture, but you wouldn’t have noticed that right away because of the character of its design. In the middle of the house is a beautiful staircase with intricately carved wood banisters. It has two landings as it winds its way to the upper level. The house has many windows which overlook the beautiful landscaping the former owners spent hours designing and tending. I can honestly say I love our new home.

But… it’s wood, hay, and straw.

The Apostle Paul said, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is” (1 Corinthians 3:10-13).

many of us build our lives like we build our homes

My point is that I’ve come to realize many of us build our lives like we build our homes — with wood, hay, and straw. And even if we’ve built well, and it’s beautiful in it’s design, it’s still just wood.

“If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:14-25). One translation says, “…just barely.”

Are we prepared to see our entire life’s work burned up just because we didn’t pay attention to what we’re building with? I don’t care how beautiful we make wood look — if it’s wood, it can burn. In the same way, I don’t care how great I look to you on the outside. If my heart is full of unforgiveness, lust, greed, or the like, it’ll burn and cost me later.

God is looking for lives built upon the principles of His Word:

Love, kindness, forgiveness, servanthood, unselfishness, and the like. In other words, God is looking for gold, silver, and precious stones. “Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing” (Verse 13, Message).

We don’t need to take these instructions lightly. Do your own inspection now while you still have time to change your building materials. The Bible says God is merciful and even if all your life’s work is burned up, believers will be saved, but just barely. Is that what you want? To be just barely saved through the fire like a family who just watched their home burned to the ground and have nothing left to show but the clothes on their back? I think not. No one does.

So dig into God’s Word and see what He desires. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

And one last thing… if we oooh and aaah over homes made of wood, hay, and straw, what will our Heavenly homes be like?

I know one thing for sure: the Master Builder never uses inferior materials.

This article was written by Daphne Delay who is an author, speaker, and podcaster with a passion to help this generation discover who they are in Christ. She is the author of Facing the Mirror, Facing the Enemy, and Facing God. Daphne also blogs nuggets of spiritual growth and encouragement regularly at daphnedelay.com

September 17, 2017 0 comment