Kill Them With Kindness

You can get more with honey than with Salt
Kill Them With Kindness

Last Sunday we had one of the dynamic, engaging and most spectacular Methodist Pastor that I have ever had the priviledge of hearing preach… Reverend Walter Kimbrough. From the time he steps onto the stage until the time he closes the bible and the preaching part of the service is over, he will have you so mesmerized with his message and the way he delivers it that you don’t want to take your eyes off the pulpit even to take down a few notes. Nevertheless, I was able to gather a few as I feel it is very important to not just listen, but to also take notes and embrace and understand the message the preacher is trying to get across.
We were very honored to have Reverend Kimbrough speak at our church on Sunday because as you can probably guess, he is busy, busy, busy. However, because my pastor is a mentored of Reverend Kimbrough’s he takes time out of his busy schedule every so often to give us a word. I have never been disappointed by any of Rev. Kimbrough’s messages. They just seem to just naturally flow out of his mouth and right to our ears.
In this particular Bible Reading and message, he focused on the words written in Kings2 6:8-23. What I got from the sermon is that first of all, when there are more of you than there are of an opposing group, why would you worry about them hurting you? If you actually outnumber them and are in the majority, you have practically nothing to worry about. Unless, you are fighting a fight you should not be fighting to begin with. You see, sometimes you will be somewhere you should not be, doing things you should not be doing, and that could cause you to lose the fight.
During that time, there were a lot of fighting among different groups and different cities. You can kind of compare it to the fighting that goes on today amongst not only countries, but among different religions, different schools, different cliques at school, and dare I say, even sometimes among church members. Thank God we do not have that problem at our church. I have been a member of this church for about two years and I have had the pleasure of watching its attendance. Now, we have grown by 28% and we are still growing. The word is out; Leland Qwest Methodist Church is the place to be!
Sometimes you will be asked to do something that you feel in your bones is wrong, but you do anyway because your superior told you to do it. Therefore, for fear of losing their job, they do as told. In essence, they are like robots. They don’t use their own minds and own brains, they just wait for orders and do as told. This may surprise you, but there is a higher power than your superiors. If you are asked to do something that you know in your heart is unethical, then you need to pray to your Lord God for guidance. I like to think of things this way, will what I have been asked to do or will do be yet one more thing I have to explain to the Lord at the Judgment Gate? I know he forgives our sins, but that doesn’t mean we should just go around and keep committing wrongdoing even when we know it’s wrong just because we don’t want to get fired and we know He will forgive us .
Something else I wonder about too is this, how long is my “good deeds” list compared to my “you should not have done that” list. I sure hope to God that my good list is a lot longer than my bad list!
Once you develop a close one on one relationship with the Lord, you will become more aware of what you should and should not do. He tells you when to go and when to stay away. As you grow in your one on one relationship, you will receive revelations numerous times and you know that it isn’t just a dream or just a thought that popped in your head because you have cultivated your relationship with the Lord and you now know how to listen out for him. Sometimes we do not get our blessing or make mistakes because we were too busy talking to the Lord and asking for things instead of just waiting to hear his responses. One word that I hear a lot when I pray sometimes is “Be Still”. At first I had no idea that it was coming from him or what it meant but overtime I learned. Basically it means “Be Quiet, Listen, and do not act yet”. Great advice.
Did you know that sometimes God will send you your enemies directly to your path even though you may be trying to avoid them? The question here is, “What are you afraid of”? As long as you have that connection with the Lord, you have nothing to worry about. God always has your back. When you see those people in the hall who does not like you, don’t turn your head----smile at them, ask them how they are doing-show some compassion for them because they obviously need Jesus. Turn the tables, treat them like a friend….a friend with a big “caution sign” on It, but treat them with sugar. Who knows, they may have thought you didn’t like them, or it could be some other silly reason, but as a Christian, you ignore all that talk behind your back. You try to win them over for one reason and one reason only; you want them to see what being God’s child and having a close relationship with him will do. They may think you are crazy because they know you know they don’t like you, but that’s their issue…not yours. As long as you do what you are supposed to, all will be well.
Well, that’s it for now. All of the information above was thoughts, ideas, and some were even direct quotes from the awesome Reverend Kimbrough himself. Let me also add, that although this particular blog entry focused on our guest speaker, Reverend Kimbrough, I still have to express my love and admiration for my pastor, Pastor Ted Rollins. He has done a lot in changing meand some of my ways. Pastor Rollins and the church congregation that has reached out to me (you know who you are) has helped me in my journey to obtain a close relationship with my Lord. I came in a lost and slightly confused babe, and now, even though I have this rare cancer, I have not lost my religion. I believe that even the cancer may have brought me closer to the Lord. All I know is, I pray all the time now, I listen for him to speak to me now, and I try to get my children to participate in church activities. My husband and I are also active members and have been for two years, although because of my illness we are not able to attend as many meetings or outings or volunteer work we would like.

Thank you all, for praying for me, and for keeping me going. Thanks to Reverend Kimbrough for making me realize all of the above through his sermon. Thank you, Pastor Rollins for praying for me, encouraging me, and helping me to find my way back to the Lord. Good bye for now. I love you all. Good Night.

I Danced With My Granddaughter

Saturday, I danced with my grandaughter. This may not be a big deal to some, but due to my illness, I have not been able to spend as much time with her as I wish. She is two years old now and I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. I was the first person she looked at when she opened her eyes. I was so happy! She has truly been a blessing. My daughter keeps her dressed real nice everyday and she looks just like an angel. She is so pretty she should be on t.v.

Well, at the Pastor's appreciation dinner, I squealed when she, her father, and her mother came through the doors. I was so shocked they came.
I enjoyed their company and they got a chance to meet some of the church members. Keith and I also met some of the newer members of the church. We reached out to as many people as we could because as Leaders of the church, that is what you are supposed to do. We welcome everybody and tried to make them feel comfortable and not alone. Our church is diverse and unique. It was such an honor for our pastor to receive another aportment
to preach at our church. From time to time his mentor, Reverend Kimbrough who was our pastor when we attended Cascade United Methodist church comes in and guest speaks. I think he is coming soon, either this week or next week I think.He is our current pastor's mentor. If that isn't a sign that we are where God wants us to be I don't know what is. My children love going to church just as much as me and my husband. They do not complain, and even Little Keith gets excited about going to church. I have nothing but good things to say about Qwest United Methodist. I even adore the lead singer, Cynthia. My favorite song is "Smile", and when she sings it, it moves me to tears.

It was a shame that more people did not show up and it hurt my heart because as much as he, his wife, and their darling daughter sacrafice and give to the church and its members we should have had a banquet hall full of people. Well, one of the Leaders (The pastor's right hand man) approached me after church today and informed me that we would be doing a "do over" next month and that this time it would be different and hopefully more people will come. I definitely want to be a part of that. As a matter of fact, I think I will ask if I can plan it myself. As a project manager for IBM for fifteen years, I think I could do a good job of planning a special gathering for the pastor. As a matter of fact, I think I will ask if I can put the whole thing together. Yes, I am sick a lot, but I can still do a good job of planning the gathering with enough notice...he deserves so much more than what we had Saturday and I would love to take on the task of planning it. It would be a gift to him. This is a project, and if he accepts my proposal, I would like to be the project manager. You cannot have two cooks in the pot because en that I have got to spend more time with my older kids and grandbaby. I won't take nothing away in the form of time with my three youngest ones, but I will need to spend time with the others too. Plus, my little ones love their older sisters and adore their niece and little cousins. It's time for us to come together.

Imagine my surprise when I saw them in church on Sunday. And afterwards, they asked all the men to meet downstairs for a brief meeting, and my son in law went downstairs with my husband. He has even expressed an interest in joining the church and maybe even the choir. I really hope they join. I really do. I have signed Little Keith up to be baptized and I will send out invitations to everybody.

My Kids Bring Me Joy

There are quite a few things that bring me joy. The sound of birds chirping, soft music, a good meal, a soft kiss on the cheek—these are just some of the things that bring a smile to my face, but the number one thing that makes me happy is watching my children play together peacefully in harmony. As all kids, they fuss and fight and have their disagreements and that simply irritates me, but I know that it is common. Watching them play together with smiles on their faces and enjoying each other’s company elates me to a degree in which I cannot describe. It is beyond comprehension to me how such lovely and peaceful children who thoroughly enjoy each other’s company one minute can appear to hate each other’s guts the next minute.

Growing up, I was the oldest of five and thus was always at odds with at least one or two of my siblings. My two sisters were close, my two brothers were close, but no one ever wanted to play with me. I don’t want to sound like a whiner, but that actually bothered me over the years. I eventually accepted it as something I had no control over and spent a lot of my time writing poetry, reading, and listening to the radio. There were numerous times I wished I had a twin brother or sister to share thoughts and feelings with but by the age of ten I realized that I needed to accept things as they were and be happy about it because there was nothing I could do about it.

As an adult I often reflect on the loneliness I felt growing up and vowed that I would do everything in my power to ensure all of my children always felt like they could talk or lean on anyone in the family…even me. I guess that is why it brings me so much joy to hear them playing and laughing together. Although they are five, nine, and eleven, they have a very good sibling relationship and truly enjoy each other’s company (most of the time). I watch them and rejoice as I know that all households and/or siblings do not have such a healthy and joyous relationship.