Honest and sincere

To be sincere and honest is one of the viture that produces trust and truth. Have you ever given your best and yet is not enough.? Maybe you haven't given it all your best yet. Many of us find it difficult to be honest and sincere. In a relarelationship,  when you  try to hide certain things it gives room for lies, lack of trust, lack of peace etc.

A boy and a girl were playing together. The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her. The boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed.

The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised.

That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn't sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble.

Moral : If you don't give your hundred percent in any relationship, you will always worry if other is giving his or her hundred percent or not. Be honest and live peacefully.

THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING PAUL'S DOCTRINES AGAINST WOMEN KEEPING SILENCE IN CHURCH.....

THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING PAUL'S DOCTRINES AGAINST WOMEN KEEPING SILENCE IN CHURCH.....

PART ONE

??? THE QUESTIONS ARE "SHOULD WOMEN PREACH IN CHURCH? SHOULD WOMEN BECOME GENERAL OVERSEERS?

        Lets trace the foundation of all these. 1 Corinthians 14: 33-end Paul speaking here refereed to women as having no authority to speak in church but rather remain silent and speak to their husbands at home. One would quickly submit to this doctrine and it will create a controversy if you view this without a proper understanding of it.  Now lets trace some few things and I believe this will help explain why Apostle Paul made this reference to women. Take a look at  verse 33 in 1 Corinthians 14. It says "for God is not the author of confusion,  but peace,, as in all churches in the saints... looking at this statement it points to two things
1. There is a contest, a rival, a war between two parties and its affecting the peace of the church.
2. There is an overthrown,  overturned and an overtaking activities going on and this is creating a space for some insubordination.
And if we proceed further to verse 34 and 35 you will notice that the women became popular and started occupying some vital positions and indirectly putting the men aside. This development grew beyond the church and it escalated and spread into their homes. The women are not suppose to be the head of the homes but submissive to the husband. This brought a lot of insubordination and wives not submitting to their husband at home. What becomes of a home without submission and what becomes of a church without a peaceful home and families.
In other to regulates this, Apostle Paul have to come with this doctrine to regulates and discipline this misbehavior. In over all explanation, verse 40 speaks of DECENCY and ORDERLINESS. This was his ultimate goal.
Take a look at 1 Timothy 2: 10 -15 . I believe this will give you a better explanation of what I have said earlier.  This became a teaching of SUBJECTION and AUTHORITY.
This two subject plays a vital role in creating a peaceful home and  church.

So it is not wrong for women to be General overseers or preach in church. Jesus said " go yea into the world and preach ........" this is an assignment for everyone not for the men alone. But the women should not use this as right over their husband at home. I will discuss this later in part two of this article. But note this; The call to ministry is not restricted to men alone but the head of the family is the man "husband" not the woman.

RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL AND FULFILLING MINISTRY

RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL AND FULFILLING MINISTRY series

" Colossians 4:17
And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it."

PART 2;  ADMINISTRATION

" 1 Corinthians 12:5
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord."

God never mentions words without any of them having significance. Most people don't realize it and so place value on some word of God instead of all. Our lord Jesus Christ instructed us differently:

" Luke 4:4
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but BY EVERY WORD of God."

In ministry one of the word we must place importance on is 'Administration'.

Administration is the process or activity of running a business, organization on a daily basis etc.

Every ministry operates on different gifts and every gifts need administration for it to be long lasting and yielding the best results. Check out ministries without administration and you will notice they lack strength in having sustained success and growth. Administration makes a ministry very very responsible and people love to identify with any work that looks responsible and is responsible.

Administration doesn't allow only the leader to be the burden bearer and also ensures every burden of the ministry are well handled by everyone necessary (Team). Jesus Christ choose a team before He began ministry and that shows He believes in administration. A good administrator is great blessing to any ministry he or she can better serve well.

With administration you have office hours which must be taken seriously by even the leader in the ministry and the workers. No ministry is well organized without administration.

There's a huge difference with having people around as protocols to protect you and having a administration in your ministry. The time usages, running of the ministry and also different assignment to be done daily are part of what an administrator takes daily responsibility of and ensures are carried out successfully.

No matter how anointed you are and how powerful your gift or gifts are you can have a solid a ministry establishment without solid administration in place.

Your own ministry administration is free to be different from others:

" 1 Corinthians 12:5
And there are DIFFERENCES OF ADMINISTRATIONS, but the same Lord."

Do you have administration in place in your ministry? It's not late to begin.

With administration you can be able to better attend to every aspects of life which are 1) Personal life (spiritual, physical etc) 2) Family life, 3) Ministry life and 4) Relationship life (friends, colleagues etc). It is administration that helps a minister of the gospel to have balance.

God bless you.

The Balancing Act: Being a Mom at Work and Home

Every mother is a working mother. The majority of mothers, however, not only work at being moms, but they also work either full- or part-time on a job site or home office. With everything that is demanded from a mother, how can you find the balance between work and home? How can you find time for yourself?

Calendar

Time-management experts agree that the road to balance is paved with proper planning. Your planning may start with a wall-sized monthly calendar. Hang it in a centrally-located spot and write down every family member's time commitments.
Take a few minutes each week to look at the week ahead with your husband or oldest child. Agree on transportation arrangements for children's activities. Let each other know what is going on at work. Are there deadlines, meetings, office parties, or showers? Use the calendar to plan meals and make your grocery list. What nights will you be home to eat? Are the children planning to have friends over? Buy only what you need, resolving to keep your shopping to one trip a week. Once you plan a few weeks' worth of menus, rotate them and shop from a master grocery list.

Family time

Reserve family time on your calendar. Order pizza and help your children with homework while you wait for it to arrive. Use paper plates and cups to minimize cleanup afterward. Then get out board games and enjoy playing with your children.
If you drive your children to school every day, use the time in the car for conversation. Sing songs, play games, and pray out loud for each other on the way to school.

Lighten up

If you are a working mom, you are holding down two full-time jobs. Do not expect to be a perfect homemaker. Your husband and children would rather have time with you than have freshly vacuumed floors or dust-free furniture.
Jeannie, a mother of two, works two part-time jobs outside the home. How does she find balance? "I give the children jobs to do around the house. They do not do things the way I would, but it is good enough." Learn to live with "good enough."

First things first

As hectic as a working mom's day is, it is imperative that you put God first each day. Wake up a few minutes early to take a look at the day ahead. Check your to-do list and spend time committing the day to the Lord.
The Bible says, "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9, HCSB). It is OK to plan as long as you are willing to yield those plans to God and surrender daily to His plan for your day. 

Avoid Worry Habit

Do you ever worry? No, I mean really worry — to the point of losing sleep or developing an ulcer, a headache, or high blood pressure? The word worry comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning "to choke" or "to strangle." That's an apt description of what worry does to us.
And it not only has physical consequences, it has spiritual ones as well. In the end, worry won't stretch our savings account or keep cancer or job loss at bay. But it will sour our mood and eventually stifle our relationship with God. Giving up the debilitating influence of worry is one big step toward a life well-lived.

Worry types

Worry is primarily based on fear and uncertainty. It's the anxiety caused when we think we might lose something important to us. Sometimes it's obvious: You're worried about losing your job; you're worried about losing a relationship; you're worried you're losing your mind. At other times, the potential loss is a little trickier to identify: You're afraid because you're losing the ability to control a situation; you're anxious about the future; you're afraid of losing a dream.
Though the roots of worrying are the same, worriers come in many shapes and sizes. Some are casual worriers to whom worrying is more of a hobby. Others have become full-time professionals at this deadly game. See if you qualify for any of these.

Mayday worriers

Life is full of risks, and weighing risks is an important part of decision-making. But scaring ourselves by dwelling on remote or unlikely risks and anticipating the worst-case scenario in every situation is a surefire prescription for sleepless nights and anxious days. Mayday worriers continually live as if their plane is going down and no one is responding on the radio.

Yesterday worriers

These are the people who can't get past their mistakes of the past. They suffer from the "shoulda-coulda-woulda" syndrome — "I shoulda known that would happen." "I coulda prepared for that better." "I woulda pursued that other lead."
The events of yesterday can give us the wisdom to make better choices today, but none of us possess the power to take back a careless word, undo a careless act, or unthink a hurtful thought. Yesterday worrying is perhaps the most futile category.

Someday worriers

Speculation about what might happen is futile. Tomorrow belongs to God. It's completely His, with all its possibilities, burdens, perils, promise, and potential. It may be ours in time, but for right now, it's His. Therefore, there's no need for us to worry about what's not even ours yet.

Everyday worriers

Some people get trapped in a cycle of worry, replaying the same scenario over and over. They lie awake all night and literally worry themselves sick. For these people, worry has moved from a hobby to a full-time occupation.

Drop the worry habit: Creative anxiety

To worry about things we can't change is a terrible waste of emotional energy. Rather than worry, people who go the distance have learned the art of "creative anxiety." While worry is destructive, creative anxiety is constructive. Worry focuses on the problem; creative anxiety focuses on the solution. Worry controls us; creative anxiety puts us in control of our emotions.
Here are some ways to drop the worry habit and learn new patterns of thinking.

Schedule creative anxiety

Worry creates a false sense of urgency. We find freedom from worry, then, by identifying that false urgency and making plans to consider options and solutions. It's helpful to set personal parameters, such as: "I won't worry about work on personal time." "I won't worry about family when I'm working." "I won't worry about unlikely possibilities until they become probable." Follow those parameters and keep worry in its proper place — and its proper perspective.

Think the concern through, then set it aside

Regardless of your profession, you have parts of your work that can't be completed in one block of time. For instance, a business proposal is the result of research, many meetings, consultations, and revisions. In the same way, acknowledging that you may not solve life's great problems in one sitting can be a liberating thought. Work it through. Keep track of notes and doodles and possible solutions. Then, you can park your anxiety with those notes until you come back.

Imagine positive possibilities

Creative thinking means postponing judgment on an idea for another day. Instead of saying it won't work, consider all solutions as possibilities, regardless of how far-fetched they may seem. Part of what makes creative anxiety work is the willingness to look for less-than-obvious solutions.

Give yourself permission to be less than perfect

All of our worries are rooted in fear of loss. What many of us fear is losing our inaccurate self-portrait of having it all together. Perfectionists would rather postpone something than see it done less than perfectly. This habitual postponement causes great anxiety and leads to worrisome habits.

Practice the discipline of submission

Part of our old nature is our desire to control. We want to control our circumstances, our relationships, and our future. People with a high need to control are often labeled "control freaks" by those around them. These people are prime candidates for worry-rooted disorders because so much of life is beyond control. When something like cancer, downsizing, or a lawsuit occurs, those who need to control go into a tailspin.
Control is at the heart of one of the most significant passages in all the New Testament. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" (Philippians 2:5-7).
Servants are never in control. They are by nature submitted to their master. Jesus gave up control — of the entire universe — so He might please His Father and redeem humankind. He never once doubted God's provision. It's our doubt that God will provide that keeps us from releasing control. When we fully understand our relationship to God and assume the role of servant, we leave behind the need to control and the worry that tags along with that need.
Telling yourself not to worry is easy; walking it out is much more difficult. But Jesus' example proves life doesn't have to grip us with anxiety. We can refuse to be surrounded by fear and live a worry-free life.

Jesus and worry

Jesus offered help for worriers by reminding us of three important truths in Matthew 6:25-34.

We are of infinite worth to God

Here we identify what is perhaps our greatest stumbling block. At one time or another, many have heard from a parent, sibling, teacher, employer, or spouse the messages such as: "Can't you do anything right?" "Why can't you be more like..." "What's wrong with you anyway?" or "I've found someone else" This erodes our sense of value.
All creation is of great value to God. His provision for even the smallest of His creations — birds and flowers — gives us assurance that He will not neglect those who have been made in His image. The one who knows us best will, in all things, guide us toward His preferable future for our lives.

Worry is futile

Jesus offers a simple test: Can worry add a single hour to your life? No. In fact, worry will most likely subtract hours from it instead. Worry has no productive value. Worry is an indicator of our level of faith and trust in God. Whenever we choose to worry about something, we are in effect saying, "I'm not sure God will do anything about my situation."
Once we identify worry as a lack of trust, then we can turn it over to God. Trust for faith is the essential ingredient in an authentic relationship with Jesus. Putting our future in His hands — all of our future — is the mark of a Christian.

True wealth can't be held in our hands

A close look at our checkbook and our calendar can reveal our true priorities. While our concern is almost always for the things of this world, our Father's greatest desire is to give us Kingdom wealth. When we refocus our vision of wealth, we realize the extent to which God provides for us, both in this life and in the life to come. Those things that are of ultimate value — our salvation and the lives we influence for God's kingdom — can't be lost. These are the things thieves can't steal and moths can't destroy.