https://citysheartcryministries.org/blogtestimonials/
It is better to give than to receive. This morning, I woke up to photos of a young child who was rescued from extreme circumstances and placed into loving home. It was amazing to see the change in him in Seven days of being with us. Looking back at the sacrifices our family and many supporters have done, it was all worth it. Giving is for the sake of the other person but is also has a way to fulfill the heart of the givers. The overflowing joy that follows can’t be compared to holding onto all what we have for ourselves. It is the reason I pray that God make me a blessing. Great joy comes with giving. I am often reminded of God’s generosity to us by giving His own son for our sake when we did not deserve it. For me, it is the reason I feel blessed to give to those who do not know me and those that may not ever give back to me. Because I have already been given and because God is faithful to His word; “38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38 NIV).
Ever taken an inventory of your spending for a month to see what you spend on? Many times, we blame a lack on money as a reason we don’t do the things we wish we could. Like making our children a priority. Investing into our children pays off in great ways. Starting with time. Investing time into your children as a base for everything else you do with them. Some of the activities made available are assumed to cost a lot without checking into them and getting facts. As a single mother under very difficult circumstances, I realized that prioritizing things in your life make a great difference on the outcomes. If we let life go as it comes, we can live to wish and never have our wishes come to reality. Making a conscious decision to prioritize will bring many wishes to reality including in your children’s life. We must practice asking the question about everything; “What is more important, my child or ….?”
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21 NIV).
Thank you to the planners for the opportunity to inspire others. God bless you. Click read more to see video
http://kdwa.com/wireready/indepth/04495_CitiesHeartCryMinistries_0531.mp3
Thank you KDWA for another opportunity to share the progress with City’s Heart Cry Ministries and Heart Cry Organization. Loving Home opened doors on May 1st. We continue to move forward. The last three weeks since we opened have been learning. We have received some calls for abandoned babies and are in process of the legalities to bring the babies into our Home. Thank you to all supporters and partners. God is at work and He will also continue to bless you.
When a child can read, they are advantaged in many ways. Reading is great for our brain and broadens our view point as well as our children’s. It builds their esteem and helps them cope better at school which is good emotionally and mentally. The benefits are more than the cost of doing it. What is a good age to start reading to your child is a question I have been asked several times. Whether it is a parent, a grandparent or other care giver that gets to read this, it is never too early to start reading to a child. For mothers, reading positive and happy materials while pregnant is helpful because the baby in you starts to recognize the voice and can feel the emotions of the mother. Once children are born, they begin to learn the same day. Reading out softly inspiring reading by the baby is beneficial. Even though they are not talking to you, they can hear you. As they start to follow your movement with their eyes, read baby books while pointing to each word you read. Babies have short attention span and will look away once their attention is worn. It is wonderful to read softly without often even when not directly to the baby. But make a point to read directly to them while pointing at the words at least once each day. You will be amazed how quickly your child will learn to read and love to read. As they get older, they will still enjoy reading with you even when they learn how to read on their own. They will want to share the joy of whatever they are reading. Even though it is usually boring for parents and other adult, do it for the child and keep a positive attitude to encourage them. Out of experience, both of my children were reading completely on their own by the time they entered kindergarten and still love to read. It is worth the commitment. If you haven’t started, it is never too late. Find age appropriate books for your children and take even 15 minutes a day to read together. Kids ted to enjoy what they see their parents enjoying. Making reading a priority for their sake even though you are not a reader currently. Your children will thank you and you might actually like reading eventually which is great for your brain and life.
“Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
My mom called me this week because she was in those moments of thinking about her grown children and missing them. She said, “I feel so lonesome and all I have is photos around the house. I look at the photos and really miss you.” I could hear it in her voice. I felt sad! I wished there was something I could do to fly my mom to me immediately. I was reminded in that moment how much I love my mom and how much I miss her. We chat and laughed and also had some tears of joy as mama said many words of blessings on me. In that moment, I thought about my children and how fast they are growing. I felt scared! “Soon I will be in my mother’s position!” I thought. My mother lives many miles away from me but I love her and miss her deeply because she was always close to her children growing her. Every day after work and every weekend was spent together as family. My parents made us their priority and that kept us very close as a family. I heard from my dad countless times the story of how he met my mom and never got tired of hearing it. As an adult, I love my parents deeply in spite of the distance. I make a point to see my parents and siblings as often as God enables me. What I would like to see happen is that my children will miss me when they are grown like I miss my parents and that they will want to see me as much as possible. The conversation with my mom this week left me in deep thought. What can I do with my children now?Children seem to be grown and gone before parents know it. Once they are grown, we can’t undo what we didn’t and can’t do what we didn’t do. The time is now when we can. Let’s make it a priority to spend a lot of time with our children. Let’s us make our children a priority because the 20 years we have them in our house will impact our relationship with them the remaining many years once they are grown and living their lives. “6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
http://kdwa.com/wireready/indepthnews/03488_CityHeartMinistryGala_0419.mp3
Thanks to KDWA radio for the opportunity to share about City’s Heart Cry Ministries and Heart Cry Organization, sister charitable organizations. God is doing amazing work through His people. Please listen and share. God bless you.
In many occasions, intimacy can not be expressed with words. It is a depth that only a heart’s mind knows. It is scary for those who have not experienced it but beneficial for those who know it. This was a place Mary chose with Jesus. While Jesus was carrying grief in His heart and preparing to die on the cross, Mary Identified it and helped prepare Him John 12:3 ” Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” Everyone else minded their business and some like Judas, express distaste for what Mary was doing. Like Mary, we can have great revelation of God’s move in our lives if we choose the right place with him. That is, spending time seeking Him in prayer and studying His word. God wants us to be His workmanship. But we must commit to seeking what that means for his kingdom. The more we discover our part in God’s will, the more effective and productive we become for His kingdom here on earth.
Luke 10:38 “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f]Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.””
http://staging.hastingsstargazette.com/news/4417466-local-author-launch-new-parenting-book-march-31
I am truly thankful to the Star Gazette for not only publishing an article on my book but doing so on front page of the page. To God be glory.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ann-b-makena/parenting-children-wholeness/
For any relationship to develop deep and strong, it takes spending a lot of time together. Not in a hurry; relaxed calm time together. Business takes away from depth and trust in a developing relationship. Our culture today is leading us to unhealthy relationships or no relationships at all which is costing us unfortunately. God created humans to be relational and no education, money, carrier, or anything else can take that away because relational is in our genes. It will take intention on our part to go back to our basics though because many of us have lost the basics whether we are aware of it or not. Many young people today will text a person that is in the same room instead of talking to them. Depression, anxiety, and other mental related disorders are on the rise. Families and marriages are difficult to keep together and many children are growing in extremely dysfunctional situations in spite of having two parents in the home. We pride in signing up our children for every activity there is available and forget our children are growing up without knowing who they really are because they are too busy to just be. We as parents are so busy making money and other things that keep us away from our children. There are many parents who admit to spend only Fifteen minutes a day with their children. When they get them out of bed to drop at day care and when they pick them up worn and hurry to get them in bed. How can we know our children that way? How can we build any strong relationship in such a hurry? Yet this business and constant hurry is costing us every day. Our relationship with God which is the most important has completely lost place in our lives. Too busy for God. Can we really be surprise at all horrible things we see in our communities?
Spending time with God is necessary and should be a priority is our lives are going to be meaningful and fulfilling. Spending time with our spouse is necessary for a strong marriage. Spending time with our children, a lot of time is a must to have lasting close relationship but most of all, to help our children feel they are important to us, to know them and guide them the right way, to protect them from seeking attention in the wrong places, to basically help them become strongly who God made them to be. I pray that we evaluate our priorities for the better tomorrow of everyone.