I Love Giving Back!

I love learning new things too.

Sooo... I combined them this week.

I’m learning to use Tik Tok. Who says you can’t teach an old dog, new tricks… but it’s harder than it used to be… and I need encouragement.

I started a (Is it channel? Help me out here. I’d never been on Tik Tok before) anyway... I started WHATEVER YOU CALL IT to learn more things and help others with what I’m good at. Brain plasticity and all that....

It’s called ‘Kitchen Table Finances’

I’ll feature short money management tips daily, along with little snippets of other people’s tips. I used to teach the Larry Burkett Money Management system years ago, and sometimes the smallest things are what makes the biggest difference.

Like today’s tip. I shared it with a young man at work, and his surprise was immediate. He LOVED it!

Will you go check it out, subscribe, and leave comments? Tell me and others what you think. Leave something encouraging. I need it. And people need MM tips in this harsh new environment where finances are hard to handle as our prices rise.

NEW: I edited this. so maybe now it will go to the right place. Sorry about the error.

https://www.tiktok.com/@rina_ktf

Good morning to everyone. Grace and Peace be with you.

Yesterday was a beautifully designed day to test my peace. There were a multitude of obstacles that required me to be on my computer or phone all day. None of which favored working on my book. There were moments where I needed fresh air, but not the air where I am playing with my littles, but centering myself. By the end of the day, I was just shaking my head and looking back. Some of the frustration could have been avoided had I just listened to the voicemail from HR instead of skimming the text in the voicemail.

After writing about which side was giving me a ‘well done, good and faithful servant’ each night, and my proclamation to only receive the one from my Father, the enemy got his feelings hurt and came at me hard. Not like hurting me or my family, he knows my faith is strong, but hitting me with stupid. He knows I do not do well with stupid. I tend to lose my peace when stupid begins. I tend to show a lot of boldness and stubbornness when stupid arrives. My compassion and empathy pretty much hide under the bed.

Snippets of yesterday. I may or may not have a spot in the International Food thing in Lafayette at the fairgrounds. I have paid quite a bit of money promoting themselves as associates with this venue, but two more showed up yesterday claiming I had been scammed. After a long day of ‘prove it to me’ or ‘give me my spot and then I will transfer the money when I get there Sunday morning.’ One gave up … the other I thought had given up, but tried one more time and then left me alone. The one gent even sent me a picture of his desk where he was working to prove he was with the venue … nothing could be verified … but it was a nice setup. By the end of the day, he had wished me well and told me to have a nice day. I dropped it. Then a couple of hours later, he started again. By the end of that conversation, he called me a liar and told me he was calling 911, and sent me a picture of his phone (haha). So I told him to show me where I lied, sent him a picture of my front view from my house and told him that I would wait right there for the police, and I would have the coffee waiting.

Reflecting back to that conversation, my insides were never in turmoil. I calmly typed each message. I did not even have the desire to cuss. That in itself is a miracle. And when he threatened the police, I laughed very loudly. My husband was on the phone and looked at me as though I had lost my mind. Then I showed him the text, he told me to quit making so many friends.

This morning, I am well rested. My coffee is hot. I will still show up on Sunday and see what happens. I may or may not have a spot. I have no idea. If not, then lesson learned. If I do, then lesson learned. God is in control, regardless of what I can physically see. If I do not have a spot, then I guess I will spend the day with my mommy. What a horrible consolation prize … NOT.

My friends, I lost valuable time with my grandkids yesterday because of these people and my choices on how I responded. I cannot get that time back. Nor can I get the potential influence I put on them because of my frustration with these people. Our choices affect everyone around us. Whether we think that they do or not. Our choices impact scenarios. Our choices set standards. Our choices plant seeds. If our choices are not from God, what seed are you planting, what example are you setting?

I was lucky yesterday. I do not have days like that very often, and my grands know this. The way they handled it … with the hugs of God. Periodically, they would come in and ask for a hug. I don’t say no to them for hugs. They are heavenly and magical.

Today, as the stupid raises its ugly head, choose Light, choose Peace, choose Grace. I will be making up yesterday the best that I can with my littles today … we will have a great day … they go home tomorrow … so today will be awesome.

Be blessed.

***Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance. – Jude 2

Fight when necessary
Have a life marked by a pattern of prayer
Relentlessly and faithfully build for the future
By John Moody
We are working through Daniel as a family. We have spent a great deal of time the past few years in the OT historical books - Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah. I love these books because few books in the Bible describe what I would call “every day godliness” like these.

Books full of faithfully caring for your family and people. Full of day and in day out average ho hum doldrum work and life.

Now first, let’s start with something important. These books are selective snippets of these folks lives. By this I mean, when you are reading Daniel, the lion’s den and fiery furnace and giant stature and standing before the king giving a prophetic word… those are the exception, not the norm. It is 1/1500 of his life. But those books make clear, that exceptional day was made possible by all the mundane, faithful, ho-hum days in between. All those days where no one could find fault with Daniel and he was studying the Bible. All those days Mordecai faithfully took care of his niece because her parents were no longer in the picture. All those days Nehemiah was making sure the stones and bricks and similar things were being done right.

I think you can learn a great deal what our lives should look like from these books if you read them right.

Build. Pray. Fight.

In that order. None of these folks turned down a fight… when it was necessary. But they didn’t go out of their way to look for one (and they had plenty of opportunity…). Daniel served across two empires and multiple kings… and openly confronted them just twice. Mordecai wouldn’t bend the knee to Haman, but he was otherwise known as a wise and good man at the city gates and didn’t pick a single other public fight we know of his entire life.

All these stories show a good life is marked by a pattern of prayer. Pray protects us in the fight and empowers us for the slow, grinding work of building.

But prayer isn’t a place these people hide. They are known for their pattern of prayer, but like in the NT, the amount of time they spend in prayer is quite small, their prayers shockingly short (like the Lord’s prayer). As Spurgeon put it ““If you are very busy, think and pray all the more, or your work will wear and weary you, and drag you away from God. For your work’s sake, break away from it, and give the soul a breathing time. “

At the same time, Spurgeon as a general rule never prayed for more than five minutes… but quipped he never went more than five minutes without praying.

Then, build. In all of these stories, this is the gem most miss. Daniel faithfully served across kings, kingdoms, and almost a century to help see the day when his people could return to their place. Nehemiah spend decades preparing for and then years rebuilding the city of his people.

Their lives are the lives of builders - the slow, unremarkable, dulldrum, brick by brick, stone by stone, day by day, week by week lives of faithful people who truly fear God.

Another eight hour at the job. Another sink full of dishes and load of laundry. Another set of homework for school. Another forty minutes in the gym. Another having some friends over for fellowship.

A good life is a life spent building. This also means you can quickly get a handle on someone by if their life is marked by a biblical balance of the above. Is their time, energy, priorities slanted and tilted towards building.

Fight when you have to have (But its far less often than most admit)
Have a life marked by a pattern of prayer
And relentless build for the glory of God.

— Can A Woman, Pastor A Church || excerpts from the book - “The Woman Question”


1 Timothy 2:12 (NLT) || “I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly”.


Now this isn’t a blanket ban on women teaching since elsewhere Paul commends women like Priscilla, Phoebe, and Junia.


So Paul here is addressing a particular abuse in Ephesus — how women influenced by false doctrines were trying to dominate the men because they believed in certain false teachings that Eve was superior to Adam.


And the Greek word (authentein), as translated, assumes that authority carries a domineering, usurping, or controlling sense.


But some people, hardened in heart, might misuse the word “usurp” to argue that women were created to be under the authority of men, and that Paul was merely telling them not to rebel against that authority.


However, this interpretation is biased, as it fails to consider a particular command given by Jesus;


Matthew 20:25–26 (ESV) || “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.”


So the scripture above is saying that there should be no attempt at control or dominance amongst you. Rather, you all (men and women now) should take on the role of servants in how you relate with one another.


Serving, not lording it over, with the gifts God has given to you.


John 13:12-14 (NLT) || “After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? [13] You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. [14] And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.”


Jesus, our Lord and Teacher, humbled Himself to take on the role of a servant — and He commanded us to do the same. Therefore, no one, whether man or woman, is meant to exercise control or lordship over others within the body of Christ.


This sheds light on the true meaning of the word “usurp”. So Paul was not concerned about women usurping the authority of men; rather, he was concerned about anyone — specifically women in that context — usurping the authority that belongs to Jesus.


For Christ has already commanded us to serve one another in humility.


To act otherwise, by being domineering or controlling, is to usurp the authority of Jesus Christ Himself.


Thus, Paul’s concern was not about women teaching or pastoring, but about a spirit of domination that replaces servanthood with self-exaltation, thereby undermining the authority of Jesus Christ.


Now if this challenged what you thought you knew, then the conversation doesn’t end here.


• Read the full argument.
• Unlearn the myths.
• Relearn the truth.


Get a copy of “The Woman Question” by Caleb Eleojo via this link — https://selar.com/m/Caleb_Eleojo


#calebeleojo #snippets #thewomanquestion #feminism #womanhood #feminine #Femininity


Picture credits, Pst Kingsley Okonjwo, Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

SNIPPETS.


"Wait on God, wait for Him, for He will definitely make good His promises & arise for you, as at when due".


"No case is impossible for God to handle, keep waiting for Him".


"God is in control & He is able to wipe away our tears & take away our sorrow. Let us keep praying & keep looking up unto Him; our salvation is near".
Gofamint Devotional.

Proverbs 11:17 Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.

The wisdom of Proverbs is unlike any other book of the Bible, giving us short snippets of insight like we see in today’s verse. Most of the statements contrast the wise with the fool. But in this verse we don’t see that comparison being made. Instead, we see the kind person compared with the cruel.

We are told that those who are kind bring blessings upon themselves. They are the ones to benefit from kind actions towards others. Conversely, the cruel person does not experience any positive results because their actions are ones that bring nothing good, only ruin.

Kindness is a core virtue that we should be expressing. Doing so will bring blessings to the giver (to us) as well as to others who are the recipients of our actions. Our actions are choices we make to act in a manner that is positive and full of love and compassion. They are behaviors we choose to engage in and when we do so, we experience blessings on a personal level, as well as bless others with our kind deeds.

Some of the benefits we will experience when we act in kindness include joy, peace, and honor to the giver. Kindness fosters strong relationships and draws us nearer to God, winning His approval, while also leading us to experience a richer life and deeper spiritual growth. Kindness reflects God's own nature (that of love and never-ending mercy) and draws others to Him.

Compare all of that to the actions of one who is cruel, uncaring, and self-centered. When a person chooses to respond in a negative way or in a way that only benefits themselves, they forfeit the blessings God bestows upon us. Instead, they bring about their own destruction, or as the verse puts it, ruin.

Don’t be selfish and respond in a negative manner. Imitate God and love others, as Christ has loved us. Choose kindness, not cruelty. Then you will experience all the blessings He has prepared for you and will be filled with joy that is truly immeasurable.

#TEENS4JESUS #t4jym #T4J #devotion #devotions #devotional #dailydevotional #christianyouth #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse #bible #bibleverse #christianity

Satan The Dragon The serpent

Pastor James
The King James Version (KJV) describes the Devil (also called Satan, the Dragon, or Serpent) as a

deceiver, murderer, liar, adversary, tempter, and prince of this world, whose influence is resisted through faith, submission to God, and the armor of God. The Bible warns believers to be vigilant against his schemes, as he seeks to destroy and has a
limited time.

Key Bible Descriptions of the Devil:

A Deceiver: "That old serpent, called the Devil, and
Satan, which deceiveth the whole world"

(Revelation 12:9).

A Liar/Murderer: "He was a murderer from the beginning... When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it"

(John 8:44).

An Adversary: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8, not explicitly in snippets but a classic KJV reference).

A Tempter: "Neither give place to the devil"

(Ephesians 4:27).

Prince of this World: Identified as a spiritual
power in conflict with God

(John 12:31, 14:30
God Loves You So Do I

Memorial Pix snippets