How to be an Influential big Sister

How to be an Influential big Sister 

By Maryann Y.

  Hey, we’ve all been there. You have a younger sister or brother who suddenly grows up and won’t listen to your advice anymore. They used to listen to everything you said, repeat everything you said, do everything you said, and then (seemingly overnight) you no longer matter and what their friends or whoever thinks is way more important than you. Sometimes they even pretend you don’t exist, and ignore you. When this happens, how do you be that Big Sister that you hear about or see in movies? She has it all together, she and her siblings are best friends, and they follow her beck and call in a moment. Wait, what? 

   First of all, there are no perfect sibling relationships. You WILL have fights and disagreements. Second, you have the right to choose; will you fight those petty little fights, turn mountains into mole hills, and leave deep roots of bitterness in your heart? Or will you be a peacemaker and forgive and forget, overlooking the shortcomings and all in all making everyone's lives a whole lot easier? 

John 13:34 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: Just as I love you, so also you must love one another.”    Have you been quarreling or working it out and loving each other? 

My sister and I don’t get along perfectly by a long shot. She is extroverted and tomboyish, loving close cropped hair cuts and sleeping in, while I am definitely introverted, love purple, pink, and frills, have everything neat and tidy, and get up after the crack of dawn to make breakfast or hurry and finish my school work.  

We share a room, and her side is usually the natural disaster, and mine the assorted bins and frilly covers. She is loud and rambunctious and I am quiet. As you can see, pretty much opposites.  

I was to be at a loss when she hit the independence stage(and in some ways still am). At the innocent age of 6 my opinion rating in her eyes went to near zero, and I was suddenly no fun to be around. Now she’s 8, and it’s still the same. BUT there is hope for your relationship! 

 I have found ways to spend time with her doing what she loves to do. I taught myself to do cartwheels (after nearly breaking my neck) for the sole reason of knowing she wanted to learn. I read The Bobbsey Twins books to her and let her stay up a bit late so she can color all over some random piece of paper before we flip the light off. Find something she (or he) loves doing and even if you don’t necessarily enjoy it. Overcome the fear of water slides and chemistry, or the so called ‘boringness’ of hikes and MineCraft to spend quality time with them. Think of funny jokes they would like, or really, do with them anything they like doing, and teach them things through it. 

 And when disaster does strike, and you have that fight, don’t escalate it. See how you have erred and apologize. Tell them you’re sorry and make a comprimise.  

I would like to suggest a book to you; it’s called ‘Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends: How to fight the GOOD Fight at Home!’ I love this book! It is so funny and I identify with it so much!  It was written by three young siblings (21, 16, and 12 if I remember correctly) who had this problem.  I would seriously recommend this! Really! 

Final thought: Put what they want first; allow them to tell the big news first, and get that joke in. Let them pick the movie and choose dinner, JUST put them first. It won’t go unnoticed. 

How do I know if God is telling me something? by Maryann Y.

How do I know if God is telling me something? 

  I used to ask myself a lot, “How do I know if God wants me to {insert life choice or situation}?”  

I finally found these things. 

• God speaks to us through his word. I recently experienced a very scary situation, and the only thing going through my head the entire time was, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life…..” (Romans 8:38-39) 

• God can speak to us through other people.  Ever had that feeling when you don’t know what to do {insert person} walks up and says something that takes the Pilgrim’s Progress Burden of your back? Yeah. What a good feeling! 

• God can speak to you through experiences and incidents. Something happens in your life which opens * THE BIG DOOR * of golden opportunity.  

 These are only a few things that our All Mighty Creator can use to tell you something. Remember, He can use ANYTHING. 

One word of warning. Don’t pick a random experience and say, “Oh. God just told me something.” Or do something you know you shouldn’t even though you say, “He must approve because of such and such.” NO. If you doubt it’s God talking to you, pray about it. It gets you somewhere!

What to do when you Seek God's Direction.

What to do when you Seek God’s Direction… 

By Maryann Y.

   A golden opportunity lands right in your lap… You go, “Yes, maybe, I don’t know…” and it all down spirals from there. What do you do? Should you go for it? 

   Maybe it’s a tough decision you have you make. You need to apologize to someone, or tell a friend something,  or WHATEVER!  You just don’t know what to do. So; what do you do?! 

• Pray!!! I know, everyone gets that a lot, but it has so much meaning. Communication with your Father is SO important. Make this a necessity, even when you feel you don’t need it, or you don’t want to. 

• Seek Advice!!! Talk to the mentors in your life, your closest friends, your parents, your Sunday school teacher, your pastor, ANYONE who you can trust your confidence in and that can help you. 

• Seek Others!!! This my seem the same as the last one, but there is a difference between asking advice and just sharing your problems and getting support. This is very crucial. 

• Seek Prayer!!! Get a prayer team to pray for you. Some trusted people in your church, your friends, ANYONE who can pray and lift you up to God. 

• Search the Word!!! Yes, I hear you guys out there saying, “But how can that 2 thousand year old book relate to my specific problem and this specific time?” God can surprise you.  Never forget this. Keep it near and use your readers help (if you have one) to look up passages.  

I hope this helps you! If you need prayer, want to add something, or just want to talk, email me at myemailformsy@gmail.com

All About...Mother's Day

All About...Mother's Day

By Maryann Y
Mothers Day coming up, cards being sold out, we'll talk about why we do this.

     Mothers Day is a great holiday for carrying out the 5th commandment: Honoring your parents. Mothers are a great gifts from God given to you to help guide

 you through the most shaping and dangerous days/months/years of our lives.  There have been times when I thought my mom was dead wrong,

 and I look back now, and she was totally right.

     I'm not saying moms are perfect, but all moms are the best anyone could ever have. God chose them to be your mom for a purpose. 

That purpose may not always be clear; or you may not even know what that is, but your Heavenly Father knows it.

     Now go and buy one of those cards to honor your mom. And if you can't, just make a homemade one; it's worth the effort!

Easter, the Meaning

Easter Article

By Maryann Y.

 "As they were going out, they met a man form Cyrene,  named Simon, and forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha(which means, The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall*; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up His clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. Above His head they placed the written charge against Him:     This is Jesus, King of the Jews.   Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right, and one on His left. Those who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads and saying,:You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! Come down from the cross, it You are the Son of God!" 

In the same way the chief priests mocked Him. "He saved others," they said, "but He can't save Himself! He's the King of Israel! Let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue Him now if He wants Him." Matthew 27:32-44

 I don't know about you, but I always get mad when I read this passage. How dare the chief priests! If only they knew who they were talking to,

Can you imagine putting yourself in Jesus' place, and the VERY PEOPLE your are saving are mocking and ridiculing you.  Jesus is taking all the sin in the world  on Himself, and the people of Israel are rejecting and denying Him, to the point of killing Him. The people He loved. The people He was DYING for. John 15:13 says, 

"Greater love has no one than this; that he lay down his life for his friends." And Jesus did that. He lay down His life for His friends. But some of them rejected Him. And let me tell you, crucifixion is a really  cruel way to die. And they didn't just crucify Him; first they beat Him up. They spat at Him, and hit Him, They even blindfolded Him, then struck Him, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ, who hit You?" Matthew 26:68

Then the guards took Him, and beat Him. After seeing Pilate, He was flogged. Then they even put Him in a "scarlet robe, and then twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Him and o=mocked Him. 'Hail, King of the Jews.!' they said, They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to be crucified."  Matthew 27:28-31.

 The thorns probably dug into His skin, and they beat Him with a rod, which can really hurt.

  "From the sixth hour through the ninth hour darkness came all over the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" - which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He is calling Elijah."

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Leave Him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save Him."

 And when Jesus had cried out in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit.

At that moment the temple curtain was torn in two form top to bottom. The earth shook and rocks split." Matthew 27:45-51

 He died for every person on the planet, lots which have refused Him. It says in Luke 23:45 that the very sun stopped shining.

Then the people buried Him, and put Him in a tomb.

But that is not how the story ends. That was the beginning of a new story. Luke 24:1-12 tells how the women went to the tomb, but found the stone rolled away, with no body inside. And,"AS they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them."Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has Risen! Remember now He told you , while He was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' Then they remembered His words. " Luke 24:1-8

(emphasis added)

Hallelujah!  He rose from the grave; He conquered death. And today, you can choose to follow Him.

Ephesians 2:1-10 : As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up in Christ, and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might Show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not by works, so that o man could boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. " 

Make that decision today; Trust me on this.

Presenting the Gospel- no Matter What

Presenting the Gospel- No Matter What 

By: Maryann Y.

​Hello. I am going to discuss something that has particularly bother​ed me this past week- Presenting the Gospel.

First, what is the Gospel? The Good News. The story of Jesus' Love for us. The amazing story of the Cross. 1 Corinthians 15:2 says, "By this Gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the Word I preached to you, Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 

The first thing I thought when I read this was, "Ouch." Paul is good about using strong words. Basically, the verse means that if you believe in a God, but not in the Gospel, you are not a Christian and are eternally condemned. Like I said, Yikes. but if you DO believe in the Gospel, guess what? 

"I write these things to you in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life."  1 John 5:13.  And earlier, in 1 John 5:11,

"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son."   Now you can jump up and down and say, "Yay!"   Jesus is Eternal Life, and God gave us Jesus.

Now we get to the real meat.  Once you have Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, You Have To Share Him.  No if's and's or but's. 

Well, maybe some and's, but we're getting of topic. All Christians are missionaries, and all Christians must share Him.          No Question. 

Now, I know you're going to say this, because I already have;

You/Me: But I'm to young! ( that and the one below are mine ) 

                              or

You/Me: I don't know how and I never was good at public speaking!

                              or  

You/Me: But all my friends are Christians, I don't know any unbelievers!

The last one may or may not be true, but it usually isn't. What about that neighbor that always walks her dog past your house? Or that elderly man who never leaves his porch swing? Or the employee at Target you see every week? Or that girl you sit next to in class every week? (unless your home-schooled like me) 

Now if you ARE like me, and you live in Togo, West Africa, your butcher could be a failing Catholic, the pool manager at 'Pacine Atlantide'(French) could have dabbled in Catholicism and Protestantism, E.TC. Most of the Togolais I know are "Religious" in some way or another. But we're talking about you, not me. 

OK, if you chose Excuse A. I'll take you to 1 Tim. 4:12-" Do not let others look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in faith, in love, and in purity."

If you chose Excuse B.  I'll speak from personal experience. Use your Bible. Let the Holy Spirit do the talking. And you can use what I've got in my purse: an Evangile Cube. You can get them at www.evangecube.com .

(I answered Excuse C above.)  Now for some verses when you share Him:

Rom. 3:23 ("For all have sinned....")

Rom. 6:23 ("For the wages of sin is death...")

2 Cor. 5:21 ("God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, ...)

1Jn. 1:9 ("If we confess our sin, he is....")

Mth. 9:13b ("...not to call righteous, but sinners..."

Is. 1:18 ("...though your sin is like scarlet, they shall be white....")

Jn 1:29 (".... takes away the sin of the world....")

 And when you share the Gospel, remember! It doesn't matter that the girl at church saved more people than you! This is about Jesus. Think of all of the people who were not Israelite that just lived and died while Joshua Moses received the 10 commandments. These poor people had no Savior to look forward to, and now they will spend an eternity in hell. As Christians, we've got to be blinding lights for Jesus. So,  "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Mathew 28:19-20

​       

___________________________________________________

Psalm 19:14     

"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in our   sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.         

                 Maryann Y. 

Little One, by Maryann Y.

Little One

Maryann Y.

He lies in my arms,

I was told He is the King of Kings;

His face rests against the hay-

It is the face of my Savior.

The Magi, they came,

With gifts for the Lord of Lords;

The shepherds,they also came

With nothing to offer but themselves;

Truly He is for all mankind.

Who am I-

Mary, that I be set apart as the

Mother of the Man that rescues me.

Truly, Lord....

You Reign.