Don’t Look Back

Daphne Johnson — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:49:27 +0000

The key to experiencing harmony in life is to live in the present, with an eye on the future. Disharmony creeps in when we allow thoughts of unpleasant pasts to invade our minds. Looking back causes us to get stuck. Mistakes, regrets and disappointments reside in the shadows of life, and they seem to call our names to woo us back into their grips. It’s important that the focus not be on what’s behind, rather, on what’s ahead. Certainly, there were many lessons that came out of the past. Once the lessons have been learned, take the experience and move to the next level. We’re smarter now, and believe it or not, better equipped to pass the next test.

Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
-Luke 17:32-33

Prayer for today – Today I praise your name for my being right here, right now.
I’m grateful for this very moment in time, knowing that you’ve preserved me for a
purpose.

OBEDIENCE

Daphne Johnson — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:43:17 +0000

“Do what you’re told,” is the common mantra heard by children growing up. One of the first lessons we teach our children is to obey. For a child to disobey is an invitation for trouble. As I’ve taught my children lessons in obedience, I’ve been reminded of God’s expectation from us, HIS children, that we obey HIM. He wants us to be obedient to his word and to his leading in the same way we tell the children “just do what I said, and don’t ask any questions.”

Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

— Deuteronomy 4:12

Prayer for Today

Dear God, help me to remember that you desire obedience from Your children in the same way I expect mine to obey. Teach us to walk in your ways so that we can live the blessed lives you have in store for us.

Not a Statistic

Daphne Johnson — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:33:16 +0000

There are many negative statistics to indicate that the single parent household is the reason for the despair of children today. Poverty and lack, poor educational attainment, crime, and a cycle of aimlessness are often attributed to growing up in a single parent household. While this may be overwhelmingly true, I say to you that Christ makes the difference! With Him you do not have to be a statistic. Knowing who you are and whose you are will propel you to be above the crowd. Single mothers need to know this for themselves, and well as teach it to your children. You are not a statistic.

But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

-Isaiah 43:1

Prayer for today – Thank you heavenly father that we are heirs of your kingdom, sons and daughters of the King Most High. We’re grateful that we’re not defined by the world and it’s statistics. Thank you for all of the glorious possibilities available to us, through you.

Leaving a Legacy

Daphne Johnson — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 13:14:56 +0000

What will they remember about you when you’re gone? Stop and think about your legacy. It’s not only about making a living for today, but it’s also about keeping the faith, and sharing it with your children. It’s about having a mission and a vision for life that is greater than you …something that your children will gladly carry on after you’re gone home to be with the Lord. Leave a legacy that will not gather dust and wind up in the rummage sale. Light the torch and pass it on to your children, so that they may continue to run with it.

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children. - Proverbs 13:22

Prayer for today – O, that they might have an unwavering faith, the ability to be bold in their convictions, and willingness to share the good news as they carry on after I’m gone.

An Expected End

Daphne Johnson — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 15:05:19 +0000

Raising kids is challenging. I know husbands and wives together, that experience difficulty in raising their children, so certainly a single mother will encounter the same. Maybe you’ve cried and prayed with concerns for your children. Be encouraged, knowing that if you’re putting the right things in them, you can expect the right things to come out. What comfort it brings to know that according to the word of God, there is an expected end for our children. It’s a blessing to know that by pointing their souls towards Calvary, you’re doing the best thing for them. They’ll live without the latest and greatest gadget or fashion, but they won’t make it without Christ in their lives. They may not realize or understand it now, but one day they will look back and be grateful.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

-Proverbs 22:6

Prayer for today – Father I confess that I am not a perfect parent. Thank you providing guidance and instruction to help me raise my children according to your will.