Verbal Affirmation

Miracle Christian Center
Family Matters
Cheryl Lane

The Word of God tells us that we are to train our children up in the way they should go. One of the most important things we can all do for our children & family is to give them continual encouragement and support through verbal affirmation. That will build a confidence in them that will become a great asset in their life. Every child and adult needs to feel that they are important.

I recently read a story telling about the world famous boxer, Muhammad Ali. His renowned trainer, Angelo Dundee, at every boxing match, would write a number on a small piece of paper and place it inside Ali's glove. The number was the round that Dundee was predicting Ali would knock out his opponent. He had such confidence that Ali would win that he would also predict when he would win. Ali of course knew of his trainers great confidence in him. Even though it was just a little piece of paper, it was actually much more than that. When we verbally affirm our confidence in our loved ones it in turn builds a great confidence in them.

We all know that Ali did not lack when it came to confidence in his own ability. He made that very plain in the intimidating antics he would recite to his opponents. Ali surely had others encouraging him, but it is when those closest to us do it that affects us the most. I know that when my husband ministers, everyone in the church may tell him it was a great sermon, but he still wants to know what I thought about it, and I am the same way with him.

As I mentioned earlier, this is something everyone of us has the ability to do. We can uplift and encourage our loved ones. Don't worry about “giving them the big head”, because believe me, their will be plenty of people out in the world telling them what they can't do!

Calling All Married Couples!!!

Beginning next Sunday May 31st @ 9:30 a.m.
Don't Miss This New Video Series In The Young Adult Sunday School Class:
"Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" -Complete DVD Seminar
with Pastor Mark Gungor
First series entitled, "The Tale of Two Brains1"
For more info. call: 903-322-2300
Or e-mail Pastor Cheryl

Family Matters ~ Cheryl

The world may not care a whole lot today about the marriage relationship, but according to the Word of God, He does! Marriage was His idea in the first place. He created male and female to be together in the garden of Eden. In Genesis 2:18, He even said it was not good for man to be alone. He intended for us to be there for each other through whatever life brings our way.

We should see ourselves as a team, working together against all odds. We are to “complete” each other, not “compete” against each other. Many couples I know are so busy trying to get everything they can out of the other person, and never consider that they may need to be giving something in order to complete their spouse. It really doesn't matter who spends the most time doing things for the kids, it's all about working together with the same, common goal. Many times instead of working together to see what we want accomplished, we waste our time pushing against each other.

God intends for us to be a strong unit, as husband and wife. Ready to stand against the enemy, and stand behind each other. We need to show our children that we are on the same page and let them know they cannot put one against the other.
God even sees us as one flesh! I wonder what kind of relationships we could all have if we always treated the other person in the same way that we want to be treated? Huuum! Food for thought!

The Vine- Grower ~ Norma

God the Father is a vine-grower whose intention is to produce good wine. God the Father plants a vine. That vine is Jesus, Our Lord. That vine, like all grapevines, is composed of roots, stalk, branches, leaves, and ultimately, grapes We are the branches; we have been made a part of this vine through our being born again, which brings us into relationship with Jesus. If we remain remain in relationship with Christ, we will produce fruit. If our relationshipo in Christ is healthy as He intends, we will produce grapes abundantly, those grapes will be full of juice. At the right time, those grapes which we produce will be harvested and pressed. Their abundant juice will ferment into good wine which will, as scripture says of wine, bring joy to the heart – not only our heart - but the hearts of others .So, according to this metaphor, God our Father is the origin of the good wine which is holiness and human perfection. Jesus his Son is the vine which the Father plants. We are the branches which the Vine produces by its internal power. Drawing from the vitality of the vine, we branches produce grapes, meaning the good works of virtue, filled with the juice of human accomplishment and perfection. Following our natural inclination as a vine follows its vegetable tendency, we will produce more shoots and leaves than are necessary for a good grape harvest. So the Father will come with his pruning hook or knife and cut away that which He doesn't want so as to direct our vitality into the clusters of grapes that He does want. This pruning may be frustrating and painful, but it is necessary to make us really productive and not just good to look at. Then comes the harvest, the cutting of the clusters, the pressing of the grapes in a winepress, the collecting of the juice in containers, and then the fermentation into wine, which is what the Divine Vinegrower has intended all along. Let us try to remain closely, intimately incorporated into the Vine which is Jesus our Lord, so that He may produce in us what His Father wants, and we may bear the fruit of virtue and become authentic disciples of Our Lord.

Happy Mother's Day ~ Cheryl

I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to all of the ladies today! Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs in the world. That is what I wanted from the time I was a little girl, to be a mommy. I have such a great example in my very own mother. I have always known that my brother and I were her priority in life, no matter what else was going on with her. Even being grown and on our own, we still know that she would do anything she possibly could for us that we needed.

Let me say, there is not a mother alive that has not made mistakes, we all have. But, I believe our children are a gift from God and we should place our mothering job at a high priority. God expects us to do everything in our power to love & nuture our children to adulthood. He also expects us to teach them to love, serve, and trust Him. It is our responsibility to train them so that they know they can call on God in every situation they have to face in life. As our children get older, we are not always able to fix their problems, but if we have done our job, they will know to call on our God who can!

Let me give a special Happy Mother’s day to my mom, Billie Hearn, my mother-in-law, Madeline Lane & my two daughters, who have made wonderful mothers themselves, Amy Gaskins and Stacy Morris. I love you all!