The Road Is Not Easy, But . . .

The road of Life we travel on is not designed to be easy. It’s not designed for us to just skip our way happily through. If it were, we wouldn’t need God. That’s not how He made us. He made us to depend on Him. Don’t get it twisted, though. Don’t think for one minute that He’s egotistical. No. He’s smart and He designed us to be that way, also.

Being smart means that when we encounter a bump in this road, we seek help. Sometimes we think we can handle the situation and we actually make a mess of an already bad situation. That’s not smart. God wants us to come to Him and allow Him to show us how to make things right.

There may be times when being smart means rather than suffer through, we get rid of our pride and ask someone to help us do whatever it is we’re trying to accomplish. This is something that’s been hard for me, but as I continue on this road, I’m learning to open my mouth and ask. God will send someone to help in whatever area it’s needed. It sure makes a big difference in how the situation looks and in how I feel physically and mentally. God has placed people in our lives for various reasons. Each person brings something different to our lives. It’s part of sharing one another’s burdens and just a part of living this life.

The Bible says God daily bears our burdens (Ps. 68:19 NIV). Make a move to lighten your load and increase your endurance for the journey. Give your cares to God and watch Him work things out for you.

© 2010 Francina Johnson-Jamison

Yes, God wants our praise and thanks. However, it’s not to be something we only do on Sunday morning out of obligation. It’s something we do every day, sometimes at various points during the day, out of gratitude.

For some people, they think the only time they’re to do this is when they’re in church. Others, only when they’re about to eat a meal or go to sleep. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. It should be done for many other reasons, for many times throughout any given day.

When you start to think about all God has done for you, you will find countless reasons to praise and thank Him. I found myself doing it last night just for giving me green lights all the way til I had to get on the highway to go to church. Once off the highway, there are no traffic lights. It can be for the, seemingly, smallest things. I also praise and thank Him for my car, which is not such a small thing. I could go on and on listing all the things I thank God for during the day, but that would make this message much too long.

Make a move to begin to consciously praise and thank God a little more in your daily life. God loves to be praised and wants to know you appreciate all He does for you. Don’t take any of it for granted.

© 2010 Francina Johnson-Jamison

Today, my father celebrates his 79th birthday and I’m so happy for him. I’m happy for many reasons. First of all, that he’s lived this long and is still going strong!

Another reason for my happiness is the fact that he is a happy man. Although he’s been through a lot, Daddy is grateful just to be here . . . as he puts it, “to be above ground.”

He’s been through some tough spots to get here, though. Daddy is a retired lieutenant with the Baltimore City Fire Department. Years ago, he was injured on duty when he fell through the floor of a house on fire. He’s had triple bypass surgery and amazed the doctors by such a remarkable recovery. Having been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he’s been through two rounds of chemotherapy and one surgery. His follow-up checkups are good and he’s doing very well.

My relationship with Daddy was strained, to say the least, for many years following my parents’ divorce. I have to say had it not been for forgiveness, our relationship would not be as strong as it is today. I’m extremely thankful I learned how to forgive.

Forgiveness heals and I thank God for healing my relationship with Daddy because I love him so much and wouldn’t trade him for the world. We can’t choose our parents, but knowing what I now know, I would not have chosen anyone else to be my father.

Make a move to start the healing process in some broken relationships in your life. God can restore those He deems worthy. If he doesn’t, consider it a blessing. Merely forgive the person and keep it moving. You don’t have to be tied to them, but you do have to forgive. The Bible says we are to forgive and God will forgive us (Mark 11:25-26).

© 2010 Francina Johnson-Jamison

God has given each of us choices. That means we have a choice as to who we are going to listen to, who we are going to believe.

As a child, I didn’t know much about God and how I could hear from Him and follow His guidance for myself. I had a mother who knew. She spoke positive things into my life and I know she prayed for me (and still does). I listened to her and she helped me develop self-confidence when I started gaining weight as a teenager. The things she told me helped me become who I am. I’m sure she was hearing from God as to how to handle the situations in my young life.

As time went on and I became an adult, I realize I listened to a lot of people around me because I still wasn’t hearing from God in a way that I understood. It was about 25 years ago that I really started understanding there is a way to hear God speak. I really just reached the point where I actually hear and understand God’s speaking to me more recently, in the last 4 years . . . AFTER I moved away from Maryland. AFTER I moved away from distractions. AFTER I started moving closer toward this assignment God has for me for this particular time in my life.

I’ve come to realize that once you really stop leaning on the advice, opinions and dictates of others and really concentrate on what God is telling you, you can live a much happier life.

Make a move to learn to hear from God. It may mean you have to let some stuff go, but it will be well worth it in the long run. God’s glory will shine all over you! It all starts with spending time with Him on a daily basis. Try it and see if you don’t notice a change in your life BECAUSE you’re listening to Him.

© 2010 Francina Johnson-Jamison

I recently had the opportunity to find a location for the picnic for our church’s Hospitality Team which is later this month. In that search, I found further evidence that North Carolina is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

We were looking for a park location and I found one with a bonus . . . a lake. Not only that, but it’s right up the street from where I live. I knew about this park and I also knew about the lake. However, I had no idea there was another side with a playground. Of course, I was able to reserve a shelter on the side where the playground is located and to top it all off . . . it is looks out over the lake. I also had no idea just how big his lake is.

When I went to pay for the shelter last week, I had to go to another location to the office at the Marina. I was not at all prepared for the surprise that awaited me there. As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed all this water surrounding the little building which houses the office and a small store with fishing supplies, snacks and restrooms. I entered the building and was amazed at the view. The building/marina are all on this very, same lake! The far side of the building is all windows so you can just imagine the spectacular view. There’s even a large porch with rocking chairs. I told the woman I’d work there for free just to have that view.

I’ve decided this is a new place for me to go during the warm weather months and do some peaceful reflections and have some special talks with God, right there with nature. It is one of the most serene locations I’ve come across in years.

As you can probably tell, I’m excited. I always get that way when I think about finding a place where I can commune with God and be out in the open air. It is one of the most peaceful feelings. I encourage all of you to make a move to find a place of peace where you can commune with God. I know some of you already have a place like that. One friend of mine has a place I love to visit where I can sit on her enclosed front porch and do just that. The beauty that surrounds her home is like a park and the feeling I get when I’m there is nothing but pure peace.

For some that place may be right where you live. Even then, it’s nice to get away from home occasionally. For those of us who live in an apartment, it means going out and searching out a spot. You may not have to search very long. If you have that intention, God will lead you to it. Trust Him. Then remember to thank Him. Be blessed!

© 2010 Francina Johnson-Jamison

The topic for this morning came almost as soon as I asked the question. The Holy Spirit also let me know this message, like so many, is for me just as much as it is for others. God wants us to finish what we start. Many times, He’s given us the vision, the passion, the desire to do something and when we don’t see it through to completion, that means His intended purpose is not being fulfilled.

My 76 year-old mother graduated from Bible college last night and I am so proud of her. She said she is just so happy that she has finished something. She has not been in the best of health throughout the process (with several hospitalizations along the way), so this means even more to her and to me. She told me she now wants to go back and get those few remaining credits for her undergraduate degree!

When I received the message for this morning, I also received instructions for myself. There are so many things I have started and not completed and I know I have to get on the ball. I clearly remember hearing Pastor Elliott (my pastor back home) saying this years ago . . . “Finish what you start.” Pastor Thomas (my pastor here) also said it just last week. Pastor Thomas even has an old sermon with this title that I’m going to have to purchase. So, with the messages coming from both pastors, exemplified by my mother’s graduation last night and instructions from God this morning, I get it now.

The question for the day is this: What have you started that you need to complete? So many people wonder what their purpose is in life. Aside from loving God and other people and serving God, your purpose could possibly be found in those things you haven’t completed. You may find when you go back to them now, you actually enjoy whatever it is. Try it. I dare you.

Make a move to pick up the pieces and complete the puzzle. God is waiting and so is the world.

© 2010 Francina Johnson-Jamison

There were several incidents over the past weekend (Memorial Day) that allowed me to further appreciate having TRUE friends and being a TRUE friend. I thank God for all the friends He has given me and for the ability to be a true friend to others.

My mother was admitted to the hospital early Friday morning. She’s 300 miles away from me and that’s hard enough to deal with at times. What gets to me is the fact that I can’t be with her at times like this. She had been seen the day before in the Emergency Room and was released. A friend of mine, picked her up and took her back to check on a prescription which had been prescribed prior to the initial discharge. When the staff there heard her breathing, she was admitted. However, she was not admitted until 2:00 AM. My friend stayed with her the entire time! Mom was released Monday and is doing very well. This is the same friend who came to my apartment a couple of times before I moved and stayed with me when I was sick in the middle of the night. She would sit with me all night and leave in time to go home and prepare to go to work. God placed this friend in my life 45 years ago.

While we were vacationing in Virginia Beach this weekend, the mother of my daughter’s friend had a stroke in their room at the resort early Saturday morning. Needless to say, it was a trying time for all of us. Her friend’s 7 year old son was with us and we just took him away from the intense drama as it was playing out. We spent the day on the beach and that was good for the rest of us while Kris was attending to her mother at the hospital. While Kris was with her mother, we stepped in and took care of her son until her father arrived later the next day.

I’m also reminded of other incidents where friends have stepped in for me during times of need. There’s the friend who let my daughter live with her and her family for 2-3 weeks prior to our move to her city so she could start the school year in the new neighborhood and thereby eliminate a lot of change and transition right at the start of a new school year. (It was the beginning of high school.) This woman has been my friend for over 20 years.

I have a friend who purchased a brand new 5-piece set of luggage for me last year … “just because.” There were also times when I didn’t have much money and a couple of friends made deposits to my bank account and told me, “This is not a loan!” What a blessing!

There are many, many other times I could talk about where friends have shown themselves to be true friends for me as well as times I’ve shown my true friendship to them. However, I’ll leave it at this just to make this point . . . God places the true friends in our lives that He wants us to have. It’s up to us to recognize them when He sends them our way. It’s also up to us to rule out those who are really just “associates” and not be so quick to call everybody your friend.

Make a move to ask God to bring true friends to your life. In return, He expects you to be a true friend, too. “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Prov. 18:24 NKJ

© 2010 Francina Johnson-Jamison

As soon as I asked God what He wanted me to write about this morning, He showed me the scene my daughter and I came upon on the way home one night. Liz was about 12 at the time, so this was 16 years ago.

It was late. We just wanted to get home and get to bed. I realize now God had a test for me just down the road. The devotional I sent out this morning dealt with priorities . . . where were my priorities that night?

As I was driving I saw, what appeared to be, a man stretched out on the left side of the fork in the road where I would have to bear right to get home. The fact that we were both tired and sleepy left my mind. I put my flashers on, stopped and called for an ambulance. Liz and I went over to the man and it appeared he had been hit by a car — which was not anywhere in sight. He was all alone, shivering and badly injured. I got a blanket from the trunk of my car and put it over him. Liz and I both began to pray for this man we didn’t know while we waited for the paramedics to arrive. Within a few short minutes, another woman stopped and we all prayed together. When the paramedic arrived, they indicated that, for sure, both of his legs had been broken and it appeared he had a head injury, in addition to some possible internal injuries. They took him to the hospital, wrapped in the blanket I had placed over him. I can’t help but believe that was a sort of “security” blanket actually placed by God. I had not been in the habit of carrying a blanket in the trunk until just a couple days prior to this incident.

I called the fire station where the ambulance was dispatched from the next morning to see if they knew how he was doing. I explained who I was, but the woman said she really couldn’t give me any information because of the circumstances surrounding his injuries . . . it was definitely a hit and run situation and they couldn’t talk about it. To this day, there are times I see this man in my thoughts and I continue to pray for him.

It doesn’t matter whether you know a person or not in order to pray for them. I always say a prayer whenever I see a fire engine going to a fire, an ambulance with the siren on (or not because they have patients at times where the siren is not on), and when I see police en route to some emergency with lights flashing. I have no idea who is involved, but I serve a mighty God who knows all and sees all, and I know how to get a prayer through! It’s something I remember seeing my mother do when I was just a little girl and I’ve adopted the same habit.

Make a move to say a prayer for people you don’t know. It doesn’t always have to be just about “you and yours.” Remember, it’s not about us, anyway. It could be someone you see on the street, in a store or in the workplace. You don’t even have to know their name, God does. They don’t have to know you’ve prayed for them . . . God knows and He’s the one that can do something about the situation.

© 2010 Francina Johnson-Jamison

I am reminded this morning of a particular show where I was modeling and I had an unpleasant experience. The runway was covered with carpet and one portion had 2 sections laid together. One of the sections was slightly raised and the heel of my shoe caught it, thus causing me to stumble. What God revealed to me this morning is just that . . . it was only a stumble. I kept on smiling, and I kept on walking. However, I learned a lesson from that stumble. I learned to survey the runway BEFORE stepping out on it. That way, I could avoid such mishaps by stepping over any rough parts as part of my walk. This relates to life, too. It would probably help us to look ahead as much as possible . . . before venturing out into some things.

The further revelation is this: In life there are definitely going to be times when we stumble along the way. Life will throw us some curve balls out of nowhere and we’ll stumble and step back. However, to master the game, we have to watch where we walk and “keep it moving” when we stumble. We cannot stay stopped, stuck and immobilized! You don’t get anywhere in life by doing so.

IF you do fall, always remember that God is there to pick you back up and set you back on your way. But, you have to get up. He’s not going to help you if you refuse His help. His help is going to come, but many times it comes in ways you don’t recognize or ways you’re not expecting. You’re looking for one thing for help and He sends something (or someone) else.

Spending time with God on a daily basis will help you become better able to recognize help when it’s there and acknowledge it. Make a move to do what you need to do in order to get through your “stumbles” in life and “keep it moving.”

© 2010 Francina Johnson-Jamison

I was looking for an old message to send to a friend this morning which I did send to him. However, before I clicked off that file, the Holy Spirit led me to this old one and told me to send this one out to the group . . . somebody needs to see this. I don’t know who you are, but God does. Be blessed.

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Praise and Press!!!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

I was depressed for the past week . . . until this morning. You probably couldn’t tell just to look at me or speak with me. I covered it well. Last Sunday, I even helped out at an event at church. I was around a whole lot of people and I was smiling and very pleasant. I don’t think anyone could tell how I was feeling inside. But this morning, I got up praising God. I put on a Fred Hammond CD and I was singing the praises. I even had my little 4-month old granddaughter singing and praising with me. That just made me feel even better. To see her standing and bouncing and raising her hands, trying to sing with me, gave me so much joy! So now, I am ready to PRESS my way through this.

I’m not alone. I know it. There are plenty of people who are depressed now. Our reasons are probably a whole lot different, but the result is the same. I believe you can praise your way through. The Holy Spirit told me to tell you that this morning. You don’t have to stay where you are. Get up and start singing some praise songs. If you can’t sing or don’t feel like singing, speak the praises to God. Give Him glory for all that He’s done for you. When you think about that and start to count each blessing, you can’t stay down. As you begin to praise Him, you are beginning the “press” part of this thing. Praises push the mess out of the way. They “press” them away. They “press” them down. You are now able to walk on them to your victory!

So, make a move today to “praise and press” your way up and out of the funk you may be in. If it’s not you, I’ll bet you know somebody who is. Why not help them?

© 2009 Francina I. Jamison

Note: My granddaughter is now 20 months old and is still singing, praising and raising her little hands!