Mental Hygiene: The Mind of the Matter

 

"The mind is hungry. The mind wants to be good, we get so many negative thoughts in our mind, it's almost overwhelming to be positive." Mike Tyson

    Before I begin, this article isn't about mental illness or disorders. This article is about how to keep a healthy mind in an evil world as a believer and why it is important.  I recently watched an interview with Mike Tyson and this quote stuck out to me when he said this. We are bombarded with hundreds, maybe even thousands of thoughts and messages within a days span. We are over loading on messages from social media: Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. Then the news media is sending messages of what's going on in the world around us. Then we have our family, friends, coworkers, etc. Then we have ourselves to deal with as our own thoughts begin to flow. Our mind is processing so much on a daily basis. What's even worse is that most of what we process is negative or unrighteous. This brings me back to Mike Tyson's quote. It's almost as if negativity and wickedness is the new "normal" and to live a Godly life is almost impossible. This is where Mental Hygiene plays very important role in keeping our mind healthy and clean.

The Mind: The Center of the Soul

The mind is very complex. This is our soul center where our mind, Will and emotions function. Our soul is who we are and this is the part of us that God sent his son to save. This is also the part of us that the adversary wants to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10).  Our soul receives information through our body from our senses: Touch, Taste, Sight, Hearing and Smell. Through our mind is where we make decisions through using our Will. The Will is very powerful because it gives us the ability to choose right or wrong. What comes through our senses through our body is what influences those decisions. I believe this is why God wanted to guard us in the Garden of Eden. God wasn't deceiving Adam and Eve, he was protecting them from evil/bad/wrong. If all that comes in through your senses is good, you don't have to protect your mind/soul because no negativity is coming through. Nevertheless, once mankind was deceived the Spiritual Warfare began. Now we have to fight to keep our mind/soul pure because negativity and wickedness is at an all time high and we must stay on guard. The Bible tells us in 1Peter 5:8-9 Be sober, be vigilant (watchful). Then Peter goes on to us why it's important to be clear minded and watchful. Peter says our adversary the devil is like a roaring lion that walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Lions actually don't go for the strong, they look for the weak, alone and sick animals. They look for those that are not alert and easy to take down. These are the instructions that the kingdom of darkness has been given to take us down if possible. How do we keep that from happening?

Godly Mental Hygiene

Great News!!! God has given us all the tools we need to keep our mind/soul from being corrupt by the wickedness in this world :) Now listen even though God has given us the tools, we must be mindful to use them. Paul tells us to not conform to the world systems but allow God to renew our mind to be changed into who God made us to be. Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God . Conformed in the Greek means to assume a certain form or figure. To conform your mind and character to another pattern. Social Media is telling us who we should be, but this is not who God said we should be. Millions are struggling with their identity because of what they allow to go through their eye and ear gates. Now they are confused because they know they should do one thing but social media says different. Not only that but it seems that everyone agrees with it and that's where the struggle comes in at. Do Not change to what the world says is right because it's not. Always search the Word/Holy Scriptures to see what God says. Remember our mind is where decisions are made. This is why it is vital that we allow God to continuously renew our mind through sanctification of his Word and through Prayer. We can't walk in God's Will if our mind is aligned with the world's Will. Transform in this scripture means change of moral character for the better. To change after being with God. This renewal is only achieved by God's power. God does a complete change in us when we turn to him through his son Jesus Christ. 

Mental Self Care

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

God tells us what type of things to keep our mind on. Below is some changes you can make to so some mental Spring Cleaning :)

• First and Foremost, Repent(turn from the world's systems and evil desires and look to God and choose him)
• If you have not already done so, get baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit
• Read your Bible daily. If possible in the morning and before bed.
• Pray daily: Whenever God crosses your mind talk to him
• Choose television programming wisely
• Unplug from all Social Media at least twice a week to give your mind a break
• Make better choices when following people on Social Media. 
• Most music is filled with sex, drugs, demonic messages and murder, so filter the music you listen to
• Do not forsake the assembly of the believers. It is strength in numbers. Filter the people you talk to on a daily basis. It is important to converse with like minded people.
• Be sober/clear minded. Stay away from intoxication and mind altering drugs unless prescribed by a physician.

In Conclusion,

It's difficult sometimes as a believer living in an evil world. When we see all the madness that is happening it can be discouraging at times. Let's be honest, we are human and we have emotions. God knows this. He created us to care about the world like he does, but we can't get entangled in it. We can't follow what everyone else is doing. We must stand out and be different because we are different. If we follow the instructions of the Bible our mind will stay in a spiritually healthy state. Isaiah 26:3 thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is                                                                                    stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

 

The Kingdom of Darkness: We Must Protect our Children

I ask you for a moment to take a look at these children. Their beautiful smiles are radiant. Look at the purity and joy that illuminates from them. Now, imagine them being taken advantage of to do unconceivable things. Imagine those smiles are now frowns filled with darkness and void. Their hearts have been turned to stone. These precious children have been made agents for the kingdom of darkness. {disclaimer]I prayed as I typed this that none of those things had happened to these childern. In the Bible, Jesus shows a deep sincere love for children. He had a protective nature when it came to the little ones. Matthew 18:6-7 says: 6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. We see in this scripture that if anyone causes a child to sin they will truly pay for defiling the pure nature of the innocent. In another scripture we see that Jesus understands the power in being like a child. We sometimes overlook children but there is much we can learn from them. In Matthew 18:2-5 Jesus shows us this: 2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. 

The Nature of Children

Jesus said that Children are humble. I looked up the word humble, the synonyms for humble are: meek, respectful, submissive, unassertive, resistless and unpresuming. This tells me that children will submit to their leaders. Children will not assert their will over yours. They don't resist what you are teaching them. I'm also a fifth grade teacher so I see these traits with children everyday. They believe what you tell them for the most part. They may ask why to get more clarity, but will submit. This is how we must be to enter the kingdom of Heaven. We should not try to assert our Will over God's Will for our life. We are to submit to God by repenting and turning from anything that is unlike him. We do not resist God but surrender our Will to him. 

The Kindom of Darkness Desires to Recruit Our Children

Satan and his agents are working nonstop. He too knows the humble nature of children and how easy it is to trap and turn them. He has demons in every part of this world promoting wickedness through lies and deciet. I recently watched two videos of young ladies who were in Satanism and are now followers of Jesus Christ! Hallelujah! I thank God for their deliverance. I also thank God for their testimonies. The Bible says that we will overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimonies. Through these young ladies sharing what they experienced in the kingdom of darkness I now have a better understanding of satans plan. I found out that his goal is to recruit young people. Both of these ladies were recruited in their teen years. They explained how they target young people. In one case there was a man that would stand outside the school to talk to young girls and recruit them. Clothes, music, false prophets, movies, social media, etc. are use to snare our children to forfeit their soul. These ladies were made to kill people, do human sacrifices, sexual immorality and more. Many of our missing children are taken for this purpose according to these ladies. They are stripped of all innocense and made to be killing and sex machines void of feelings. This breaks my heart as I type these words knowing we have some fault in this. Nevertheless, my hope comes from knowing that there is a way of escape for matter. God does not leave us ignorant. He makes a show of the enemy by bringing his tactics to the forefront. Now it is our time to act. 

Defense Strategy

The Bible says: Train up a child in the way that they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it. Many Christians are failing at this for a few reasons. First, we are taking our children to Church and leaving it up to them to train our children. The church is the village that helps, but they are not to do the parent's job. As parents we have to practice what we preach. In Deuteronomy God instructed parents to put Him first in all they did and teach their children to do the same. We are to follow God's word in action and not just words and teach our children to do the same. Many of us are merely church goers with no action behind it which in turn teaches our children nothing about the foundation of our faith. Therefore our first defense strategy is to lead by example. God should be taught at home along with prayer.  Our children should know who Jesus is because at his name everything will bow. Secondly, we are allowing our children to hear and see wicked things created to snare them. Our eyes and ears are open doors to our soul. When we as parents listen to sexual immoral music, Watch sexual immoral videos and movies, curse and use God's name in vain and any other act that involves sin, we open our children up for possession. Therefore our second line of defense is to first make a conscious decision to eliminate those things from your life. Remember we must lead by example. Children do what we do not what we say. We must show our children how to live a Godly life and why it's important. You and your child may learn the reasons together and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact that is beautiful to learn the fullness of God along with your child. Third, pray without ceasing, which means pray all throughout the day. We must cover our children in prayer. This will keep them protected by angels sent by God.  We must take this walk more seriously if we want to save our children. There are children being left open with no defenses because we are not praying and teaching them the right way. This causes them to fall for the kingdom of darkness lies. We must teach our children the name of JESUS! We must teach them how to pray. The Bible is what teaches us how to discern the difference between evil and righteousness. How will they know without you reading with them?

Our job is to protect our children. Pray for any children that are around you. Pray for the abducted children to be returned safely. Pray for believing parents to begin to walk righteously in front of their children, that their children may follow and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Teach them the importance of Jesus and what his sacrifice did for them. Let's take our children back from the hands of the enemy. Stop freely giving them over by allowing them to see and hear anything because of your fleshly desires. Make a decision to be hot or cold. I pray you be hot for Jesus and teach your children to be the same. My prayer is that through your walk with God, your children will begin to teach other children that they encounter. My prayer is that you will begin to form prayer groups with other parents. My prayer is that you will teach the blue print of the Bible which is to Repent, be Baptised and Filled with the Holy Spirit. Be Blessed☝ Feel Free to leave any questions in the comments.

Prayer: Is it possible we've been doing it wrong

People pray all over the world. Many people pray in a religious manner such as Muslims pray religiously 5 times a day at set times. Hindus make shrines and pray 3 times a day. Some people pray out of fear of death, illness or need. Humans have an innate yearning to connect with the source of creation. In God's Word he tells us to pray on all occasions ( Ephesians 6:18). The word "prayer" is mentioned a 132 times, "pray" 121 times, "prayed" 68 times, etc. In short the subject of prayer is mentioned in total of 375 times in the Bible. This tells me that prayer is very important in the life of a Believer in Jesus, but why is it taken so lightly? Prayer is one of the foundations of Christianity. This is the first thing you're taught starting with the prayer of Salvation, so why do we drop the ball? When you look at church buildings the service with the less people is the prayer service. It's usually the elders of the church and a few new Christians that fade off after a while. This should not be. We've mistaken prayer for an option instead of it being a necessity. Prayer isn't an option for a Believer, when we neglect to commune with God we walk in our will instead of his. We also allow the enemy to do whatever he wants because we are not calling God to act on the behalf of the world.

My answer to this question was usually "talking to God". While this is a true answer, prayer goes deeper than that. Soon you will see why it's not an option, it's a necessity. Prayer is the power to influence earth from heaven. Jesus told us that in Matthew when he said whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. We often see evil things happening in the world and we feel helpless but really we have power through prayer in Christ Jesus to make a change. Let me explain. In the beginning God gave dominion to mankind. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Gen 1:28) God made the earth for mankind and gave them authority over it. When Adam and Eve sinned they gave that authority to satan. This is why he is called "the prince of the air". Before this happened Adam and Eve talked with God daily, we know this because scripture says that after God made them "he said to them". Prayer was from the beginning. God spoke to them with no interference. They wasn't thinking "is he talking to us" or " how do we know when God is talking" God explained to them what everything was made for and what to do with it. He gave them instructions and had regular conversations with them daily. The Bible says they heard the voice of God in the garden in the cool of the day. This was nothing new to them, but the relationship was broken from sin. Sin brought the disconnect between man and God. We were created for God's pleasure, will and purpose. We were made to be one with God, just as we are one with our spouse (meaning one accord, not sexually). If we go back to the scripture stated above, God was telling them his will and purpose for their life. He was basically saying this is why you were created. God is all powerful see's all, knows all and everything was created by him, through him and in him. Nevertheless, God is a God of integrity. His word is greater than his name to him. Psalms 138:2b for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. God's word means everything to him, so when he gave us authority he only interferes when we call on him through prayer. He doesn't take authority, satan does that. Matter of fact he just tricks you out of your authority. satan tricks people into handing over the keys daily through deception and half truths. Anything on earth without a body is here illegally unless they have been called by a human. This is why demons (who are spirit) seek bodies that they can possess because their time is limited without one. That topic will be for another day :) 

Jesus won our dominion back for us

Once Jesus came as 100% man and 100% divine he was the final sacrifice for our sin. God was here legally because he sent himself in a body to do what we couldn't do. He became our atonement. This doesn't mean that all mankind has their authority back though. We only gain our authority back when we accept Jesus as our savior. Once we do that we now have the power of God literally inside of us. satan has no control over you anymore and neither do sin unless you allow it. Now that you've been cleaned in the blood of the lamb the communication signal is back open.  Jesus is the link from man to God. 

So if I'm saved and I pray sparingly, what's the problem. 1. We pray out of our own selfish desires. James 3:4 says God will not give you the desires of your lust. 2. We don't realize we were created for God's purpose, not our own. Thus, our prayers should line up with his purpose, will and pleasure. 3. We are unaware of God's purpose because we haven't fully surrendered to him, nor searched his word to find it. 4. God is not concerned with being our personal Jenie, he wants a intimate relationship as a father with his child. 5. We continue to walk in sin and hinder our prayers which make them null and void. 

James 5:16b (NIV)

James 5:16b(kjv) The effectual fervant prayers of a righteous man availeth much. Our job as a Christian is to pray for the saints, our world, family, ourselves, and that God's will, purpose, pleasures and promises come to pass. Our prayers are successful in producing a desired result when we are passionate about God's purpose and living a Godly, sinless and noble life. Souls are being lost because of non prayerful Christians. This world is becoming darker and darker by the day because we haven't said "tag God, you're it". We only have ourselves to blame. We spend far too much time thinking about a new car, new house, clothes, trips, etc. This is where we go wrong because we don't even have to pray for those things. Jesus said seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt 6:33). Wealth and riches are in his house and his righteousness endures forever. (Psalms 112:3) But the blameless will inherit what is good (Pro. 28:10b). 

This is just a few of many scriptures that shows that God loves you and know what you are in need of. He also knows the desires of your heart. Our job is to first seek the kingdom of God through prayer and living morally in God's standard not man's. We are live righteous, not good. There is a big difference. God has done his part, we must do ours. Prayer is a necessity for us. We can't live without it. To be without prayer is to be blind to me. How can I know my destination without talking to the person I'm meeting? We were created to commune with God. We were created for his pleasure “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are, and were created.” Rev.4:11. 

In Conclusion,

Prayer has to be taken seriously for the life of the believer. Prayer is the power to influence earth from heaven. We were created to fulfill God's purpose & will for our life here on earth. Our will should always line up with God's will. We will only know what "created for his pleasure" mean when we seek him first by reading his word and praying. God gave us authority of earth because he entrusted us to be righteous because we were created in his likeness and image. This means when we are reborn we take on his characteristics, his integrity, his righteousness, his love, his will and his purpose. Our prayer life should reflect this. Let's begin to take our prayer life to a new dimension in him. My goal is to become one with God, to be on one accord with him. The Bible says Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus Phil.2:5 Jesus being 100% man & 100% God was humble, he always put the will of the father before his own. When you read the gospels you see Jesus always praying that the will of the father be done. I purpose to be more like Jesus, so I can be effective while on this earth to help in the saving of souls and the building of the kingdom of God. 

There will be a part 2: How to enter into God's Presence

Why Do I Still Live Bound If I'm Free From Sin?

First let's begin by explaining what Sin is. Sin is any lack of conformity to the moral law of God, either active or passive, whether in act, thought or disposition. Hamartiology is the study of sin. This tells me if a study is devoted to sin it must have some importance. According to the Christian Bible reference site the word "Sin" is mentioned over 400 times in the Bible. This tells me that God thought it was important to speak on it so often. Therefore if there is a study devoted to it and God says its important then I need to understand it to know what it means to be free from it.

Sin the old ball and chain

God created this world sinless. The world was a place of utopia (heaven on earth). Humans were able to talk to animals without fear. Animals ate vegetation, they didn't desire flesh and blood. Can you imagine petting a lion without fear of being eaten. Can you imagine cattle not worrying about being eaten by us. We too had no desire for flesh. All of our food grew on trees. We had no need for clothes because we were clothe in the righteousness of God. This had to be amazing to never feel guilt, shame, fear, low self-esteem, lust, rage, etc. The only feeling were those of peace, joy, serenity, kindness, love, truth, godliness, worship, etc. Just stop and think for a second how different the world would be. There were no religions. It was just God and his creation. We knew who our creator was because we had an intimate relationship with him. There was no interference or competition. Then entered Satan our enemy and God's enemy who was once one of his most treasured Cherubs. 

Bound By Sin

We can't talk about sin without talking about the cause of it. Satan wanted to be like God so he rebelled and took a third of the angels with him. These angels are now called fallen angels. Satan hates us because he has no chance to repent, he will never inherit the kingdom of heaven. His inheritance is to be locked in hell with his fallen angels. Therefore he wants to make sure we never inherit it either. When Adam made the decision to eat the fruit sin entered the world. Having knowledge of what sin was meant you had to choose sin or godliness. We are now all born into sin because of Adam's choice. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God Romans 3:23. God looked down through generations and saw that the law he created with Moses couldn't be kept. There could never be enough animals sacrificed to totally cover our sin. So God sent the ultimate sacrifice, his son Jesus Christ the Messiah. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.John 3:16 This broke the chains of sin on our lives. Instead of being mastered by sin, when we believe and accept Jesus as our Savior we are mastered by righteousness. 

Walking in the Newness of Life

Paul asks a question in Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue to sin, that grace may abound? In layman's terms Paul is asking " So do you think it's o.k to sin since we are now covered under Gods grace?" "Should we sin so his grace can increase more and more?" So before we answer that question let's talk about grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Grace is God showing his mercy, patience, and kindness instead of our just punishment for sin which is death. Grace isn't earned, it's a part of God's character. Remember "For God so loved the world", his heart toward us is to give us a choice to choose him and be free. Now back to Paul's question. In Romans 6:2 he answers his rhetorical question. His answer: God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Again in layman's terms, Paul is saying " God refuses to allow us to walk in sin after his ultimate sacrifice for you to free. Why would you want to live in sin after being freed from it?"

The problem is that Sunday after Sunday we here we can never live up to God's standards. This doesn't mean we should live carelessly. We hear REPENT but we don't hear change and turn. Therefore we cry at the alter repenting but never changing. We get baptized but never open the book on how to live. We barely pray and often don't understand what prayer is. How can we live free from sin when we never open the manual (Bible)? Our mindset should be to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, not for what he can do but for what he already did. When we have a love for God like this our desire changes from a sinful nature to wanting to please God. We have a zeal to read more about him and his standard(will) for our lives. We begin to talk to him more and get to know his character. Then chains begin to fall off because we begin to say GOD I CHOOSE YOU! He already chose us with his sacrifice, now we must choose him to be able to walk in total freedom. We must take the power back from our enemy. Romans 6 (read full chapter) tells us that we must die with Christ and be raised with him by the glory of God . This means that our old sinful nature must die in order that we walk free from sin. Walking free from sin means we no longer serve sin but the father who loves us. We have the victory through Christ's death. We should live everyday manifesting our resurrected life free from sin's control. 

 Now that you know what sin is, where it comes from and what God did to free you from it, Here are some steps you can take to walk in the newness of God and become a servant of righteousness.

• Read your Bible daily. It doesn't have to be a whole chapter. Start where you are and increase as the spirit leads you.
• Pray daily, morning, midday and before you sleep. Very important to pray before you sleep. Prayer is just talking to God, nothing fancy.
• Try to connect yourself with other believers. You will be able to strengthen and encourage one another. In addition, they are seeking the same thing you are which is to live a righteous life. Ungodly people will never steer you towards God and his desire for your life.
• Always ask God to give you wisdom, knowledge and understanding so you never put your own interpertation  to his Word.
• Ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit which will lead and guide you in God's truth. 

As you begin to implement these steps in your life God will begin to reveal himself to you. He will begin to show you the areas that need cleaning. This is what he did for me once I asked him instead of trying to do it on my own. I found that I can only do what God wants through his power. Through him we can do all things. Nothing is impossible with God. The Joy of the Lord will be your strength. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comment section. I look forward to hearing your testimony. 

Brain Atrophy: Our Children are not Being Taught to use Their Brain

In today's society there are few true relationships. In the home children are sat in front of the television while parents do chores. We give charge to the television to teach our children their foundations in learning. They are expected to pay attention to the television and learn their colors, letters, numbers and moral codes from programs like Sesame Street and PBS kids. All the while there is no social interaction between the parent and child except "Good Job" when you here them mumble out a letter. Then we have cellphones and tablets. From the time they're able to use their fingers they have a cellphone put in their hand. They can see all kinds of advertisement sexual, vain conversation, etc. but we don't pay attention. The motto is as long as they are occupied, not bothering me or crying. Our children are screaming for attention because they barely get it. Children don't have to look up words in the dictionary because they speak to the phone. Therefore they don't know how to use a dictionary properly. They don't know to look for the root word because the suffix of "ing, ed" is usually not attached to the word. They don't know how to write complete sentences because they are always texting and making statues on social media in short hand. Their role models are ex-strippers with barely any clothing on who are now rappers in music videos for girls. The boys have rappers talking about sex, demons, drugs and death. In addition to that you have video games that they sit in front of for hours shooting and killing to get to a certain level. Where is the critical thinking process being used? ITS NOT!

In All They Getting, Get an Understanding

Children have to be taught to think critically. Take a look at the above picture. Critical thinking Intel five concepts and they all work together. How can they discover and explore sitting in the corner with a cell phone all day? How they inform and describe when they are not spoken to on an intellectual level? I see it all the time, a family out to eat and every one has their cellphone and no one is talking to each other. Therefore our children vocabulary is very low which makes it hard for them to describe and inform. Everything is so quick that when anything presents a challenge they give up. The challenge is the critical thinking process. God tells us in the Bible how important it is to get an understanding. We must know to ask the: Where, When, How, Why and Who. It is our job as parents to teach our children and not leave it up to Social Media, Television and Schools. Yes I said school and I am a teacher. Teachers are there as an aid to help instill in your child, just like a pastor is there to help you learn what you should already be studying which is the Bible. Learning starts at home. It's our job as parents to teach our children how to read, count, morals, values, the Word, etc. Teachers build on the foundation that parents lay. When a teacher has nothing to start with it makes their job very hard because now they are doing your job and theirs. High priced gym shoes are nice, the most expensive IPhone is cool but God says an understanding should be chosen over Silver and Wisdom is better than Gold. This means if our children don't know how to use their brain to make important decisions in life they are doomed and those gym shoes won't help.

How Can You Help Your Child to Use Their Brain?

In this picture it shows the difference between the right and left brain. As parents we want to nurture both. In order to do this we must pay attention to our children more and talk with them. We must see what they like, what are their strengths. This is the right brain. You will be surprised how many parents don't know their children strengths and weaknesses. Have your child read for 20 minutes each night and ask them to give you a summary of what they read. That is the left brain. Instead of investing in material things invest in their mind. If you child likes drawing find a drawing class for them or go buy an easel with paint and drawing pencils. If they like to sing find singing classes or a karaoke machine. If you have a boy that likes to fight put him in boxing, karate, etc. where he can learn the art of fighting. Yes there is an art to fighting :) Look up science projects and try them out at home. Write what you think will happen and see what really happens. Sensor what your child listens to such as music, YouTube videos, television, etc. Explain to them why certain music isn't good for them. If you are a parent that listens to that music also (no judgment) you may have to stop and find better music. Your child is at stake. I had to do it when my children were coming up. We watched family movies and shows all the time together. I didn't know what adult T.V. was for a long time 😂😂

Please stay true to what you teach your children. When my children were growing up they called me out on it every time. They don't mean any harm and they are not trying to be disrespectful. They are learning from you so they are going to ask why they have to do something and you don't. What I learned from those questions was that they were right. If I wanted them to go to college I needed to go so I did. If I wanted them to love God with all their heart I had live by example so I pressed to do that. If I wanted them to have clean speaking I had to do the same so I completely stopped cursing. I never missed anything I gave up for them because they were my heart. My God given gifts that I had to cherish. I dropped the ball sometimes but I always tried my best to keep it right. I'm a follower of Jesus so I have mentioned God a lot but even if you're not a Christian it is important that you nourish the growth of your child and make sure their brain don't go to waste. Be blessed💕

Obedience is Better Than Sacrifice: Don't give up your blessings for temporary pleasures

Every morning I give my students a "Writing of the Day" assignment for Bell work. I'm a 5th grade teacher for those who don't know. The writing assignment is always something to edify them as an individual. This is the time I take to teach Character Building. About 2 weeks ago I wrote about "Obedience is better than Sacrifice". When I first read this in scripture I was confused on what it really meant. I was confused because in the old testement they gave sacrifices for forgiveness of their sin. So why would God say this? I thought. Then I had a 💡moment :) God showed me that we sacrifice so many blessings because of our disobedience to him. There are numerous times in scripture when God gave instructions on what to do and after he explained the blessing of following the commandment. Usually the person receiving the instruction would start off right but then begin to think on their own and stir themselves to destruction. 
This is exactly what happened in 1Samuel 15th chapter. God gave Saul instructions and he decided to put his twist to what God had commanded him. 

1 Samuel 15:20-21 New King James Version (NKJV)

20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” We can see in this scripture that Saul thought that he had obeyed God's command. He felt it didn't hurt to let the people bring some sheep and oxen back. They was bringing it back to give to God. That's not bad right? Wrong! Neither did it hurt to allow the King of Amalek to live so why murder him? The answer is because GOD SAID SO! God gave Saul 2 instructions: 1.Go and destroy the sinners the Amalekites and all that they have, don't spare any humans or any animals period.  2. Fight against them until they are consumed.

The underlined portion Saul didn't obey. Saul listened to the people and allowed them to do what God instructed them not to do. This caused God to reject him because he rejected God's instructions. Saul lost his Kingship because God regretted choosing him for this position. In addition, God allowed an evil spirit to torment him which ultimately made way for David to replace him as king.  

We Often Make the Same Choices

We endure so many hardships because our decision not to obey God which is ultimately rejecting him. We have sickness that comes from the way we eat. God shows us in the Bible the best way to eat but we sacrifice our health for pleasure. When the reaping time comes from how we treated our body we want to call on God for healing. We believe him for healing but we don't trust him when he gives us the instruction to bypass illness. I'll be the first to raise my hand in this scenario. Women are treated badly by men because they sacrifice Godly happiness and peace for sexual pleasures. Raising my hand again. I went through so much pain in relationships because I didn't want to wait for God. I chose men that God didn't. When I finally did get with the man God chose we both had to be broken down and rebuilt. We both had chosen things and went through situations that caused us not to be the man and woman God called us to be. We had to be sent back to the manufacture, get refurbished and sent back out. This blog would go on and on if I shared with you all the times I rejected God's way for my way, society way, family way, etc. 

 Now this is my prayer. I learned from my bad decisions. There was no one to blame but me. I put myself in the situations not God. I surrendered my will unto his and saw what his purpose was for me. I realized that he was my creator. He created me for a reason and he had a good life laid out for me before I decided to go my way. I'm so thankful for his grace and mercy. I'm also over the moon estatic that Jesus died for my sins because I never want to be completely cut off from the father. When we rebel against God, he sees it as witchcraft. When we are stiffnecked (stubborn) he sees it as iniquity (living in our sin) and idolatry (putting something in place of him). He throws his hands up and says " You know best so I give you over to your depravity". He allows us to live the way we choose. I'm grateful I realized I was his workmanship and not my own. I'm grateful that I realized he knows what's best for my life. I'm grateful that I realized he had plans for me to have success and a future in him. Now I'm not just living but I'm purposefully living. 

If this is you please stop now and turn to God. If you find yourself failing in many areas of your life, STOP NOW! If you find yourself going through the same situations over and over again, STOP NOW! If you find yourself feeling worthless with no purpose for living, STOP NOW! If you find yourself feeling sadness more that happiness, STOP NOW! If you feel whatever you do there is no peace or joy in your life, STOP NOW! We bypass so many DO NOT ENTER signs and try it anyway. Please don't bypass this one. Turn back to God and allow him to lead your life. The Bible says seek the Kingdom of Heaven and everything else will be added to you. He will give you the desires of your heart (that line up with him of course😊). I know this through experience. I've seen so many changes in my husband and I after surrendering to God. Our relationship was a daily struggle filled with mental abuse and unhappiness. Now we look forward to seeing eachother everyday. He is my bestie❤ We enjoy each others company, he keeps a smile on my face. This is not because of me or him but because we surrendered and allowed God to fix what we couldn't. I went from working at Coney Island restaurant to having a Masters in Education and being a certified teacher. I look forward to whatever else God has planned for me. This is not because I'm smart or strong but because I stopped trying to make a purpose for living and allowed God to show me my original purpose that I was created for. God is waiting on you to come to him. He loves you so much. Matter of fact it is his pleasure to lead you into life of righteousness which brings happiness. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments. I would love to converse with you and share my testimony😊