Menu:

 
Praise the Lord! What a week thus far! Thank God I am getting closer to the weekend. I have been functioning on little sleep and it is really starting to catch up with me. So much on my mind last night – had to pray and pray some more.  

Our children can really be trying….one thing leads to another but thankful that it is not both my son and my husband that are being trying – for that always makes me trying…LOL 

Yet the prayers are going up – a mother praying for her child and his understanding of what he is doing. I look at my son sometimes and wonder who the heck is this child…he is only 8 – in two months he will be 9! I look at him and wonder what the heck is going on in that mind of his. 

He comes home yesterday and makes up the story about how he went to the teacher asking for help in math because he did not get what she was trying to teach in class. He says how he gave up his recess time to stay in and get extra help in math. WHAT A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL!!!!  

His teacher emails me and tells me that his behavior was just so disruptive that he had to give up his recess and since he did not hand in his homework for math – she had him do it during recess and even then – he did not get it done!!! WHAT??!!! Okay – we are working on his behavior in class because he has this thing about talking and just doing whatever he feel like. He wants to be liked so much by his classmates – he is becoming the class clown or attention seeker because he likes it when they laugh when he does something silly….okay I am praying on that and not stopping but the lying!  

My son is almost nine years old and I can not believe a word that comes out of his mouth and the lies are becoming creative lies – which means he stops to think about them. Yet he has yet to realize that his lies are always found out. Well he knows this but this lying spirit on him is STRONG!! I mean he is always lying and I mean always! He will do something in front of me and I will ask him about it and his first instinct is to lie and tell me he did not do it….like I am blind or something. He lies so easily – without even thinking – whatever he can do – to save himself…. 

I pray for him constantly – to be honest I think I pray about him more than anything else….so why has nothing changed. I have been praying about my son since he started school and I came to Jesus – praying hard about his behavior in school and home. I pray and pray – Lord when are you going to answer my prayers! I was getting angry at God for making me go through this with this child.  

Okay – thanks Lord for letting me see him grown up in that vision – thanks for letting me see him graduate school…thanks for giving Merv the vision of him in college but God it is not working right now – this child is making decisions that are just not going to get him there….

Yet the Lord as He always does – reminds me of His word. He said that if I serve Him – He will save my whole household…He did not say it was going to be easy. He did not say it was going to be fun…actually it is the opposite…it is going to be a fight every single time.  

He reminded me that Jonathan maybe only eight years old – but he has free will too…that this is his testimony – that one day he will stand and tell the world – my mother prayed for me – Jesus heard her prayers and I am set free in Christ! Oh to hear my son testify of the Lord…. 

Yet my son is only eight – he is not a believer yet….why – because God did not bring his dad home to him…because he has not seen his dad. Jesus answers my prayers, answers Merv’s prayers – answers Pastor’s prayers but not Jonathan’s prayers….at least this is what we believe to be true. So another lesson must be taught – but Lord please while he is learning this lesson – please calm him down so I do not have to have him held back this year to repeat the third grade. He goofs off so much – his teacher does not know what he knows and what he does not know.  So I am once again calling on the prayers of the righteous and those that truly know the word of prayer to join me in prayer for the salvation of my son – the completeness in Jesus in him – the success of this school year in him and the change that is to come forth in our son!  

Literally Lord we have done all that we can do – we are placing this child in Your Loving, Caring, Directing Hands….Lord bless us to know what to do and how to do it in your name. Bless us with the direction that is right for Jonathan for I am so close to spanking him until I can not move anymore….and I know that is not going to work – the police will take me away!

Lord, bless my family to become closer and unite my husband and I to come at the raising of our son as You see fit – it is not easy Lord but you said that nothing worth having is easy – so bless us now in your name to do what is right in your sight with our son.

Lord cover Him in your precious blood as he heads to school and starts his day – bring him to the understanding that he must listen and live according to your will and way in his life and that he must honor his father and mother.

Lord comfort him in your love as he aches over the loss of his father by the lack of participation by his father in his life. Lord send the comfort that he needs to overcome this in you.

Lord touch his father so that his father will come unto you and live his life according to your will. I pray that his father is one of your chosen and will heed to the call on his life to live right before you.

Lord if it is thy will – allow his father to become active in his life – the one thing that he prays for constantly for you to do for him. I accept whatever your will is Lord and may I stand out of the way of your workings in my son!

I ask all these things in the name of Jesus – Lord bless your holy name for You are worthy of all praise. Amen! 
 
 
Hello! What a glorious day in the Lord! What a blessing it is to be in Jesus. What a day yesterday! I was home because I was just so tired and needed the rest – I felt calm about taking the day off as a much needed day. I just needed it.  

It is something as some point on Monday – this scripture appeared to me and it stuck with me.  

Psalm 46:10 -Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted in the earth.

When this happens – I just pray for the Lord to prepare me for the using of this scripture in my life. Well last night while laundry was being done, more of the secrets of Jonathan started to appear before my husband and myself. It was a list of things yet not thought to have been happening but we found out that he is trying to hide a lot of things from us – but as all things done in the dark – it will come to light. 

I thank God for at least preparing us as we prayed on Monday night for our son – cover him in prayers constantly. He is making decisions that are not wise ones and of course as his parents we must continue to strive to do what is right. So many times, I have heard people say there is no manual to raising children and I totally do not agree with that – the manual is the bible.  

We follow the word of the Lord in our house and are some seriously praying parents in our home. We see the things that our son is up against and even get an understanding of why he is doing them. Jonathan is not raised like the other kids he is age, Jonathan is not even raised like some of his Christian home friends. We are very careful of what we allow Jonathan to be exposed to. Yes he is not permitted to bring rap or even R & B music into our home – yes I know he hears it on a regular basis when he is not in our presence. He is not allowed to watch all those videos and stuff either and I am thankful for ON Demand for it tracks all that is being watched! A wonderful tool!! He does not see all the latest movies without us seeing it first. Sure he sees the latest kid movies but not all the other stuff. 

So as we discussed this – we know that he does everything possible in HIS power to make himself not look so different. It is a shame that our child has to go through this with no other parents who are Christians – holding their children to that standard – which means they are most likely not holding themselves to that standard either – yet it effects our son…he is only eight. It was something as Merv said last night – why does he want control….I looked at him like – What – are you serious? We all come into this world wanting control – plain and simple – for the most part it never leaves us…we just have to learn how to turn that into submission. 

Raising our son has given me another outlook as to how Jesus sees us – how we do the Lord and how we can be the same way. We are rebellious, liars, sneaking, conniving, trying so hard to get over when in reality He know it all. I tell my son that there is NOTHING he will do that I will not know about! I pray that is true for his childhood years and thus far we have been blessed to know – but Jesus always knows what we are doing – He knows before we even know it – AND HE STILL LOVES US!! Praise the Lord. 

So when my husband said to me last night as I said that I did not write the Good Morning email for today – he said first that I was not super woman and it could wait (that was a miracle in itself! LOL), but he said that the above scripture was in his spirit when he thought of the Good Morning email. So I thank God for the confirmation and for the acknowledging us and our walk.

Psalm 46:10 -Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted in the earth.

So when I read this today and with all the things going on in my life right now between home, work, Jonathan, Merv, church, and WL4J – I read that scripture and to me today it speaks that God hears my prayers – sit still and watch what He is about to do. I feel yet another change in my spirit today and I know that it is coming. The change this time is unknown to me and I just brace myself for whatever it is but in doing so – I shall be still and know that He is God and whatever it is – my steps are ordered by the Lord and all things will work out to glorify Him. 

I have to smile as all of this came about after our prayer on Monday night where I gave all that was on my heart and mind to the Lord. The significance of that was I did it in prayer aloud with my husband praying right beside me – there is a change in me – it is a slow change but it is a change and it does not matter who see the raw and naked me for the Lord is molding me into the woman that He has called me to be – so be still and know that He is God! 

Why not take the time today to meditate on the entire forty-six chapter of Psalm – God Bless!

Psalm Chapter 46 1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. 9He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. 10Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted in the earth. 11The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.  
 
 
Picture
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord – yet another awesome day in the Lord! I am sitting here thinking about the Honesty Today for yesterday and let me tell you it has me fired up. See we do not really understand sometimes the strongholds we subject our children to or the roadblocks for salvation in their lives. We are just as guilty as the world is sometimes when it comes to raising our children according to the word of the Lord. 

We will excuse away what we allow our children to be subjected to because they are young children but ALL children are sponges…the soak up everything. It starts from the time they are born until they are old and die. I have noticed with my own son that he pays attention to everything…he misses nothing and quick to tell you and any one else what he knows. We are currently working on what is said in the house stays in the house, yet that is just taking forever for him to learn. LOL Yet some things we excuse away because of their age, or that we do not want to them to be ‘different’ or considered unpopular.  

We have got to snatch our children out of the world and bring them into the ark of safety in the Lord…half the problem is that many of us are still living in the world and for the world – this is why our children do not want to go to church…in their minds – Jesus is not working for you – why should they try Him? As a parent you are still angry, hurt, disappointed, not calling on the Lord, not praying, not praising and only doing what the word says for those moments you are at church…what does your child see when your child looks at you? Ask them but be ready to hear a tough answer if you permit them to be totally honest without getting in trouble.  

Are we truly raising our children to be separate from the world, to not do the things of the world, no matter how much it is calling them to do things like their friends? Are we living that life in front of them as shining examples of how to fight temptation, how to overcome the attacks of the enemy? Or do we pretend to do this in the public eye and our kids see a completely different person? Do you allow your children to know the struggles that you are going through and that you are calling on the Lord as you go through? Do you have family prayer time together where you pray as a family to instill in your children to have their own prayer life? What are you doing to show your child how to cultivate a relationship with the Lord? Do they not only see your read the word, but do you read it with them, do you have them read it on their own…do they even own a bible?

Are we sending our children out into the world unequipped to deal with it as the Lord wants them to do so? Are we permitting our children to decide when they attend church and when they are not attending church? You know just like I said yesterday, “my house – my rules”. We have to be parents and not our children’s friends, they have enough friends, they need the foundation to make it to spend eternal life with the Lord – we are the ones who start showing them how to lay this foundation in their lives by not only living it before them, but giving them the tools to live it also.  

Yes, we can not control our children and their habits, but we can give the direction, the guidelines, the tools, the know how and also the opportunity to get it right at a young age. We can enforce rules with our children that not only keeps them in church (at least til they move out) but also we can live the life before them with joy and happiness in our hearts. It is in this that our children will see that Jesus is the way. We have plenty of grown children coming back to the Lord and seeking His will for their lives, why because we trained them up right when they were young, yet we need to keep training them up – teaching them the right way and know that God is able. We can not slack on our duty as parents to find out who we are in Jesus – to find out what is going on in our lives, we should as adult already have it together….time is wasting…let us get it together and train them up right.  

Let us get back to the word of the Lord and the ways of old that raised children in the manner of respect for the Lord and all those that they know. Kids do not respect the church or Jesus because they are not being taught to do so, we allow them to come any way to keep them but not giving them the tools to change…give them the tools to change. Sure having a bowling night, going to the zoo and doing activities is great for them, but what about sitting down and just talking with them about the issues that they face, giving them sound biblical scriptures that tackle the issues at hand for them. How about relating the examples in the bible to them, showing them how this applies to their lives. Sunday service is not enough, bible study is not enough – we want our youth to be strong in the Lord – we need to give the ALL that is needed for them to succeed…we need to give them the instructions of how this is going to work in for them.  

Our youth need to learn how to prayer, they need to know why they are praying, they need to know what scriptures related to the situations they are going through right then, and they need to know that we care…if we do not show that we care – we will lose them to the enemy forever. Let us be more mindful when we are dealing with the youth, not just our own children but all the youth that we meet as we walk this life in the Lord. 

Until tomorrow,
God Bless
Sister Alissa Lynne Griffith
 
 
Picture
Praise the Lord…you know when you do things that glorify the Lord – the enemy comes at ya like there is no tomorrow but yet I stand. I stood yesterday and gave my testimony on being content in whatever state I find myself, and of course what does the enemy do today – rear his ugly head trying to get me to be un-content…but I am going to remain content! AMEN!!!  

You know I started this blog one way and then this other way started coming on me, so I had to start again…today we are going to talk about our children….it is getting worse and I am not talking about the children of unsaved parents, they are doing what they see…yet I am talking about the children of saved parents. The word of the Lord says in Proverbs 22:6 6Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

We can all agree that everyone needs a foundation in their lives – something to believe in and stand for…for if you stand for nothing – you will fall for anything. This we all can agree on…the word says to train our children up and when they are old – they will not depart from it. Now as saved parents, we pray our children will come to Christ and stay with Him, yet some do and some do not…yet we have to see that the Lord deals with everyone as individuals and brings them closer to Him with the things they need to be close to Him. He calls and some answer and some do not answer – we need to remember that not all are going to go to the Lord – actually most are not, the word says that few shall walk the strait and narrow path…(Matthew 7:13-14 13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.) Yet we do not know who is and who is not, so our children could or could not – heck we could or could not be the ones that make it to eternal life. Yet – many are not doing what is necessary to raise our children up right.

As I was talking to two sisters yesterday briefly about our children, one thing is clear – things have changed in how we are raising our children. We have become so laid back with our children that they are running the home instead of us. Our children talk any kind of way that they want to us; they talk to whomever they choose to instead of the Lord and us. They decided a long time ago that they were grown doing what they think they are grown enough to do. As I was talking to one sister, I said I do not understand it and the one thing she said that hit home as she said several things that was right on the money – but the one that hit home is that our tolerance levels is one of the issues.

There are things our children do that our parent would have NEVER put up with and yet here is another thing – we would have never tried it with our parents either. We have decided to not be on our children as much as our parents for whatever reason, yet we wonder why our children are acting out against us. It was something as I was talking to my son last night about the neighborhood kids as there are some kids he is not permitted to play with because of the lack of disrespect for him. He is so much wanting so many friends and wanting to be liked so much by others that he puts up with anything with the children. I started thinking about that as I was thinking maybe that is my issue. I want him to care for me and want to be my son – not to dislike me that I have be come too laid back. I used to be called the “warden” by my uncle because I was on Jonathan all the time, then when his dad left, I felt guilty and started being laid back more. Hummm….wrong move….wrong move….LOL

Yet as I look at other families and hear so many stories…we have got to stop allowing the enemy to take over. I told my son last night that if he ever came home with clothes that I did not buy – he has to move out, for that means he is stealing or even selling drugs. I told him that in our house – there is no rap – there is no hip hop – we invoke the presence of the Lord in our home so all that other mess has to go. I have told my son that it is Merv and my way or the highway…I let him know NOW at the age of 8 that I am not playing – that there is a level of respect that must be maintained and if it is not maintained – then he is not going to like the outcome.

I tell you what…the attitude changed right then and I seen the difference – I could feel the respect from him…something though…so many of us are so busy trying to get the respect from our children that most times all we have to do is demand it…give the option of either give it or move! LOL Yes it is that simple, yet we do not want to ‘hurt their feelings”. My mom did not give a care if she hurt my feelings or not, I was to listen to her and do as I was told – end of story.

We are struggling with our children, letting our children decide on things that they should have no business deciding…sorry if I am living the life God has called me to live and you live under my roof – then guess what you are going to church period…you my child – you are going to church as long as you live with me…do not want to – MOVE, yet until you move – you have no option….make me late for church or do things that are deliberately making it so you can not go…time for some tough love…GOT TO GO! It is not easy hecks no – but they must respect and know that there is no other way to live this life…we have to make a stand and sometimes that is against our own children.

There are sisters with daughters who are sleeping around in their house, out there doing all kinds of stuff and bringing those nasty spirits home with them, sons walking around thinking they all that because of the little bit of money they bringing in, sons walking around dressing like thugs when you raised them to dress better or children expecting the best but yet giving you a hard way to go…it has to stop and we as parents need to make that decision to stop it.

It is something as I listen to the words of some of those songs that these kids are going around singing….we are allowing our children to sing those things into their lives. They walking around singing about being a hustler and then you wonder why they are hustling stuff…our daughters walking around about shaking what your mama gave you and you wonder why they are walking around shaking it. Some parents even encourage it. It is something…even when I had a job – my mom vetoes my outfits…if I brought something in the house that my mother thought I should not wear – it either went back or in the garbage…there was no option. She taught me how a young lady was supposed to behave, so while I was in her house I was a young lady – I was trained right and now I resort back to it now in my older years….which is what Proverbs 22:6 means….we have to get them now!

More to come on this…tomorrow…

God Bless

Your sister

Sister Alissa Lynne Griffith