Embrace a variety of motherhood methods. Galatians 5:14 Amplified Bible says, "For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is complied with in the one precept, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself."
Ida B. Wells was born a slave in Holly Springs, Mississippi, on July 16, 1862. She was the eldest of eight children. Her parents died in 1878 of yellow fever. As a teenager Ida got a teaching job to financially support her brothers and sisters. Being a teenage parent did not discourage her from motherhood. In her 30s in 1895 she married Frederick Barnett, and they had four children. Before and after marriage Ida B. Wells was a journalist, speaker and activist for the rights of African Americans and women. In addition to speaking out against lynching and segregation, in 1896 she helped to found the National Association of Colored Women, the National Afro-American Council and Women's Era Club.
Wells said, "I had...found that motherhood was a profession by itself, just like schoolteaching and lecturing." What about eliminating the term "working mother?" All mothers work. Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
Instead of having multiple careers simultaneously, Angela Yuan chose to be a domestic engineer while her and her husband's two sons were minors. Careers have their high points and their points of humiliation. A high point for Ida B. Wells was in 1887 when she became part owner and reporter for Memphis Free Speech and Headlight. A point of humiliation was when in 1891 she was fired from her teaching job because of the content of her writing. A high point for Angela Yuan was when her son, Christopher Yuan, began work on his dental doctorate degree. A point of humiliation was when he told her that he was practicing homosexual sex, was not going to become part of his father's, Leon's, dental practice or stay connected to the Yuan family.
Romance novels are half of all mass market paperback books sold in the United States. Adventure, incredible sex and other excitement are often included in romance novels. The intensity of real life hardship is often missing. Naghmeh Abedini married her sweetheart Saeed Abedini in 2004. Later the couple had two children. In July 2012 she and their children were separated from Saeed indefinitely when Iranian authorities placed him under house arrest, then in Evin prison in Tehran, Iran, for threatening the national security of Iran by helping to set up Christian house churches in Iran and also a secular orphanage. Now Naghmeh is a married single mother. Help free Saeed, who is also a pastor, from prison, by writing letters to him and by signing a petition at http://www.savesaeed.org.
Sometimes mothers are not missing their husband, but they are missing their children. More than 330 million boys and girls have been killed by abortion in China; many of these abortions are done forcibly. A ChinaAid March 24, 2013, "With ChinaAid's Help, Two Victims of China's One-Child Policy Granted UNHCR Refugee Status" article reports that in 1995, when Guo Yanling was eight months pregnant, she was forced to have an abortion. In 1999, she was forcibly sterilized. In 2006, she was imprisoned for not being able to pay a fine for having more than one child. The Chinese government also refused to issue household registrations to her and to her husband, Du Yiliang's, three children without which they are unable to attend school or receive government benefits. With ChinaAid’s help, Guo Yanling and Du Yiliang have been granted refugee status by the UN High Commission on Refugees. Notes of encouragement to Du Yiliang and Guo Yanling, requests for interviews and financial contributions to ChinaAid's Emergency Relief Fund can all be submitted to ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu at (267) 205-5210.
Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, who is the president of The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, America’s largest Hispanic Christian Organization with more than 40,000 member churches, writes in the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial "Trust Act Seeks to End Trivial Immigrant Arrests," "Juana Reyes provides for her family by selling homemade tamales outside a busy Wal-Mart not far from where I live. At least she used to.
Last month Juana was arrested for selling her tamales without a permit and was held in jail for 13 days, while her two children were placed in foster care. Juana was just released, but she now faces deportation back to Mexico, despite having lived in California for 20 years and being the sole caregiver to her children, both U.S. citizens." Many Latino and other immigrant mothers and fathers are being separated temporarily and permanently from their children by American immigration policies.
Motherhood and fatherhood are honorable professions. Exodus 20:12 Complete Jewish Bible says, "Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you." Happy Mother's Day!
Showing posts with label Motherhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motherhood. Show all posts
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Living On Purpose
Prema Dhanraj's mom, Ruthie, like Hannah, the mom of Samuel, prayed for her first child. These moms dedicated Prema and Samuel to God. Prema became a doctor. Samuel became a prophet.
God gives us children for multiple reasons. Ask God to reveal the reasons, and then nurture them and the child. Proverbs 22:6 Amplified Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it."
Prayers are meant to be put into action. Eli trained Samuel in ministry. Prema completed medical school. Samuel became a premier prophet of the Hebrews. Prema became Head of the Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery department of Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India, and in 1999 she founded Agni Raksha to provide medical treatment to burn victims and to provide career training. Many of the hospital's burn patients are victims of bride burning which can happen when the groom's family is not satisfied with the dowry from the bride's family. Demanding a dowry is suppose to be illegal as of 1961, but it is still practiced.
Samuel and Prema did not forget the investment their God and their parents made in them. They returned it to their family, society and even the world. Samuel's testimony is available to readers of the Bible, the most-read book in history. In addition to her work in India, Prema speaks and trains people internationally to help burn victims. Both Samuel and Prema are committed believers with clear purpose in life. An African proverb says, "If you don't know who you are, anyone can name you; and if anyone can name you, you will answer to anything."
Please share some prayers for your children that were answered in a life lived with godly purpose.
God gives us children for multiple reasons. Ask God to reveal the reasons, and then nurture them and the child. Proverbs 22:6 Amplified Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it."
Prayers are meant to be put into action. Eli trained Samuel in ministry. Prema completed medical school. Samuel became a premier prophet of the Hebrews. Prema became Head of the Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery department of Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India, and in 1999 she founded Agni Raksha to provide medical treatment to burn victims and to provide career training. Many of the hospital's burn patients are victims of bride burning which can happen when the groom's family is not satisfied with the dowry from the bride's family. Demanding a dowry is suppose to be illegal as of 1961, but it is still practiced.
Samuel and Prema did not forget the investment their God and their parents made in them. They returned it to their family, society and even the world. Samuel's testimony is available to readers of the Bible, the most-read book in history. In addition to her work in India, Prema speaks and trains people internationally to help burn victims. Both Samuel and Prema are committed believers with clear purpose in life. An African proverb says, "If you don't know who you are, anyone can name you; and if anyone can name you, you will answer to anything."
Please share some prayers for your children that were answered in a life lived with godly purpose.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Something Horrible Happened?
Psychologists say we are born with two instinctive fears: the fear of loud noises and the fear of being dropped. God is so good that even if our fear of hearing loud noises and of being dropped comes true we can still have an awesome life.
Mephibosheth was dropped as a five-year-old and became crippled in both feet as a result (2 Samuel 4). He was also crippled in his mind holding a "dead dog" self-image (2 Samuel 9).
But God arranged for Mephibosheth to eat at the king's table, live on royal land being served by Ziba, Ziba's 15 sons and 20 servants from adulthood to death.
If something horrible happens to you like being crippled in both feet or in your mind or something else, press through the fear, shock, disappointment, anger, unforgiveness, depression and other negative emotions and go frequently and boldly to God asking Him for way more than you deserve or seems reasonable to live an awesome life in spite of misfortunes, challenges and differences.
Believers don't serve a miserly God who metes out cold justice. Our God loves extravagantly.
Sometimes in American culture we forget about loving people extravagantly and go to war over our misfortunes, challenges and differences. One example is the mommy wars. Whether we are mothers whose full-time work is to raise children like Pauletta Washington (wife of actor Denzel Washington) or mothers who are also employees, business owners, non-profit employees and non-profit owners like Naomi Zacharias of Wellspring International, Joyce Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries or Cookie Lee of Cookie Lee Jewelry, we all have God-given purpose and roles in life. And this is also true for women who are complete and successful as singles without children like the first African-American female U.S. secretary of state, Condolezza Rice.
Many seem to have fear that if someone lives differently it is a threat to their lifestyle. Yet God created each one of us as unique. Even twins do not have the same fingerprint.
God didn't create us to be isolated and hostile but integrated and friendly. Mothers who raise their children full-time and mothers who are also employees, business owners, non-profit employees and non-profit owners all need help raising their children. Sometimes we need the participation of more than fathers and other family members. Sheila Lirio Marcelo gave birth to her first son while in college. A few years later her parents emigrated to the United States from the Philippines and were helping with childcare when her father had a heart attack, suddenly switching from a childcare provider to one who needed care. Marcelo did not allow the fear, shock, pain and difficulty of the situation to keep her down indefinitely. She turned evil into good. Out of this horrible experience Marcelo created Care.com which provides services to find caregivers for typical and different children, seniors and pets. Care.com also helps with selecting tutors and housekeepers among other things.
Vive mas (live more). What ridiculous request have you asked of God in the face of fear and other negativity and found the path to awesome living?
Mephibosheth was dropped as a five-year-old and became crippled in both feet as a result (2 Samuel 4). He was also crippled in his mind holding a "dead dog" self-image (2 Samuel 9).
But God arranged for Mephibosheth to eat at the king's table, live on royal land being served by Ziba, Ziba's 15 sons and 20 servants from adulthood to death.
If something horrible happens to you like being crippled in both feet or in your mind or something else, press through the fear, shock, disappointment, anger, unforgiveness, depression and other negative emotions and go frequently and boldly to God asking Him for way more than you deserve or seems reasonable to live an awesome life in spite of misfortunes, challenges and differences.
Believers don't serve a miserly God who metes out cold justice. Our God loves extravagantly.
Sometimes in American culture we forget about loving people extravagantly and go to war over our misfortunes, challenges and differences. One example is the mommy wars. Whether we are mothers whose full-time work is to raise children like Pauletta Washington (wife of actor Denzel Washington) or mothers who are also employees, business owners, non-profit employees and non-profit owners like Naomi Zacharias of Wellspring International, Joyce Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries or Cookie Lee of Cookie Lee Jewelry, we all have God-given purpose and roles in life. And this is also true for women who are complete and successful as singles without children like the first African-American female U.S. secretary of state, Condolezza Rice.
Many seem to have fear that if someone lives differently it is a threat to their lifestyle. Yet God created each one of us as unique. Even twins do not have the same fingerprint.
God didn't create us to be isolated and hostile but integrated and friendly. Mothers who raise their children full-time and mothers who are also employees, business owners, non-profit employees and non-profit owners all need help raising their children. Sometimes we need the participation of more than fathers and other family members. Sheila Lirio Marcelo gave birth to her first son while in college. A few years later her parents emigrated to the United States from the Philippines and were helping with childcare when her father had a heart attack, suddenly switching from a childcare provider to one who needed care. Marcelo did not allow the fear, shock, pain and difficulty of the situation to keep her down indefinitely. She turned evil into good. Out of this horrible experience Marcelo created Care.com which provides services to find caregivers for typical and different children, seniors and pets. Care.com also helps with selecting tutors and housekeepers among other things.
Vive mas (live more). What ridiculous request have you asked of God in the face of fear and other negativity and found the path to awesome living?
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Why Small Is a Great Start
Whether
we have an intimate or distant relationship with God, God has created
each human being in His image. Sadly, many of us think in terms of our
limitations instead of the infinite capacity of God. Gladly, some
recognize the small-minded, limited thinking of Satan as big lies.
Sameena Mehmood's four-year-old daughter was often sick and missed many classes at school. To punish her, the principal refused to promote her to the next grade despite mom's discussion with the principal to find positive solutions.
Mehmood refused to accept the barrier to her daughter's progress erected by the principal. Mehmood used her Montessori teacher training, and on July 4, 1984, opened her own Montessori school in her garage with three children enrolled.
Some may have mocked and belittled Mehmood for her small beginnings, but God praises boldness birthed in lowly circumstances. Zechariah 4:10 New Living Translation Bible says, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin . . . "
We have almost 10,000 taste buds. Mehmood may have been tempted to taste and to eat a variety of fears like the fear of people's opinions, the fear of change, the fear of the unknown, the fear of being the pioneer of a new school, the fear of a wrong vision, the fear of being wrong, the fear of failing, the fear of responsibility, the fear of not being loved by spouse, parents, other family and friends, the fear of losing the people one loves, the fear of having a bad reputation, etc.
Mehmood could have also allowed worry over her new garage school's small beginnings to grow across her mind fast and furious like an ivy and strangle her faith and commitment to her daughter's and other people's good. "Worry" is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "to strangle" or "to choke."
How many people do you really think believed her garage school with only three students would be successful and a good place to educate her daughter and other people? It's likely that in small and big ways people tormented her and her family for a long time for defying the social norm of public school education.
What nervous habits were magnified or developed in Mehmood during this experience? Maybe she bit hers nails, popped her joints, rocked, etc. to release the anxiety conquered in the conscious mind but crawling around in the unconscious mind.
Anyway, if we really love someone as ourselves, we will treat him or her with multifaceted excellence even when many others don't; we will help the person to live by faith in the God-given ability to pull off what people consider improbable and even impossible no matter how long it takes. Mehmood chose love, faith and commitment over fear, worry, anxiety and submission to evil.
God especially rejoices to see good overcome evil. Romans 12:21 New Living Translation Bible counsels us, "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."
Mehmood had the wisdom and love to know that her daughter would not flourish in a school with a principal against her. View rejection as redirection and preparation to possess something better.
Sameena Mehmood's four-year-old daughter was often sick and missed many classes at school. To punish her, the principal refused to promote her to the next grade despite mom's discussion with the principal to find positive solutions.
Mehmood refused to accept the barrier to her daughter's progress erected by the principal. Mehmood used her Montessori teacher training, and on July 4, 1984, opened her own Montessori school in her garage with three children enrolled.
Some may have mocked and belittled Mehmood for her small beginnings, but God praises boldness birthed in lowly circumstances. Zechariah 4:10 New Living Translation Bible says, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin . . . "
We have almost 10,000 taste buds. Mehmood may have been tempted to taste and to eat a variety of fears like the fear of people's opinions, the fear of change, the fear of the unknown, the fear of being the pioneer of a new school, the fear of a wrong vision, the fear of being wrong, the fear of failing, the fear of responsibility, the fear of not being loved by spouse, parents, other family and friends, the fear of losing the people one loves, the fear of having a bad reputation, etc.
Mehmood could have also allowed worry over her new garage school's small beginnings to grow across her mind fast and furious like an ivy and strangle her faith and commitment to her daughter's and other people's good. "Worry" is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "to strangle" or "to choke."
How many people do you really think believed her garage school with only three students would be successful and a good place to educate her daughter and other people? It's likely that in small and big ways people tormented her and her family for a long time for defying the social norm of public school education.
What nervous habits were magnified or developed in Mehmood during this experience? Maybe she bit hers nails, popped her joints, rocked, etc. to release the anxiety conquered in the conscious mind but crawling around in the unconscious mind.
Anyway, if we really love someone as ourselves, we will treat him or her with multifaceted excellence even when many others don't; we will help the person to live by faith in the God-given ability to pull off what people consider improbable and even impossible no matter how long it takes. Mehmood chose love, faith and commitment over fear, worry, anxiety and submission to evil.
God especially rejoices to see good overcome evil. Romans 12:21 New Living Translation Bible counsels us, "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."
Mehmood had the wisdom and love to know that her daughter would not flourish in a school with a principal against her. View rejection as redirection and preparation to possess something better.
Seek
environments where we can grow. Because Mehmood loved her daughter, she
didn't force her to fit into a hostile environment. Mehmood shook off the enemy and created an
environment for success. 1 Corinthians 13:6 Amplified Bible says about
love, "It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but
rejoices when right and truth prevail."
Today Mehmood's garage school has grown into Headstart school of Montessori Education with almost 1,000 children enrolled and is one of the most-sought-after schools in Bangalore, India.
Good does overcome evil.
That doesn't mean everything in life will feel good or change for the good immediately. David Walker lived from 1785 to 1830, was born free from slavery, was a Christian and African American, owned a profitable secondhand clothing business started in his middle ages in Boston, Massachusetts, published an appeal against slavery, but died before the end of American slavery.
God is good. God is able to end slavery and to turn a school rejection into a new school or something else for God's glory and our good in His time and season. Grieve the rejection and loss while moving forward in God's good destiny.
Today Mehmood's garage school has grown into Headstart school of Montessori Education with almost 1,000 children enrolled and is one of the most-sought-after schools in Bangalore, India.
Good does overcome evil.
That doesn't mean everything in life will feel good or change for the good immediately. David Walker lived from 1785 to 1830, was born free from slavery, was a Christian and African American, owned a profitable secondhand clothing business started in his middle ages in Boston, Massachusetts, published an appeal against slavery, but died before the end of American slavery.
God is good. God is able to end slavery and to turn a school rejection into a new school or something else for God's glory and our good in His time and season. Grieve the rejection and loss while moving forward in God's good destiny.
Talk With God Throughout Today: God, forgive me. Sometimes I feel timid and tiny. Yet You say I am Your beloved, bold as a lion. Lavish Your Love on me. Thank you. Inspire me to live as You created me.
Luke 1:37 New Living Translation Bible says, "For nothing is impossible with God." Remember and respond:
1) I can change whatever needs to be changed.
2) The person who wronged me needs to change, but I will not wait for him or her to change before I do.
3) I will take the initiative to change.
4) I can change enough to conquer my challenges.
1 John 5:4 Amplified Bible says, "For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith."
Please leave an on-line comment regarding your small business, start-up story. Please also tweet with me via my Twitter name "Michelelove30" and/or chat via Google's G+.
Luke 1:37 New Living Translation Bible says, "For nothing is impossible with God." Remember and respond:
1) I can change whatever needs to be changed.
2) The person who wronged me needs to change, but I will not wait for him or her to change before I do.
3) I will take the initiative to change.
4) I can change enough to conquer my challenges.
1 John 5:4 Amplified Bible says, "For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith."
Please leave an on-line comment regarding your small business, start-up story. Please also tweet with me via my Twitter name "Michelelove30" and/or chat via Google's G+.
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