by Marquetta Smith | Jul 19, 2017 | Prophetic Words
It is so important to know the function of a thing. When we are not aware of the purpose of something, we will misuse and abuse it, despite our intent. This is why we have user guides and manuals to help guide us with the operation of things.
The same way we research how to operate our phones, computers, and even vehicles, we must be just as diligent in seeking God in how we are to operate in the earth. We are so much more complex and valuable than our gadgets, but we must be just as diligent in seeking our manufacturer on our features, functions, and effectiveness in the earth. Our education, family, and personality types are all tools to help guide and sharpen us. Take time out this week to ask God to show you His purpose for your life! You will be amazed by what He shows you.
Article by Felicia A. Tate, co-creator of You Light Up the World! Part of God’s plan for all of our lives is to know Him, His love, and His purpose for our lives.
by Marquetta Smith | May 23, 2017 | Prophetic Words
Just Because My Path is Different Doesn’t Mean I’m Lost
by Marquetta Smith | May 11, 2017 | Family Life, Parenting, Words of Encouragement
We are getting closer and closer to the designated day for honoring one of God’s greatest roles on earth, motherhood! And this is the time that we get to reflect on the beautiful beings that brought us into this world. Regardless of your upbringing, the fact that you are here speaks volumes of the choice she made to birth you. And for that, we say thank you.
Moms to Be: The Expectant Ones
There is nothing like “expecting” a gift. We patiently or eagerly wait (LOL) to receive it! And some parents even make the decision to seek and find a bundle of joy to love and raise, not knowing what is in store for them.
Regardless of whether you have biologically birthed a child in this world, or if you lovingly chose to take on the role of motherhood by adopting or inheriting one, you have been named the guardian of one of God’s greatest gifts of love. In this waiting period, please reflect on the notion that you have been chosen to bring life into this world. This life will need your guidance, wisdom, and love. You may not “feel it,” but daily you are settling into God’s true character of love as you anticipate the arrival of His prized possession.
One of the greatest tasks you will have is training them up in the way in which God created them to be in the earth. So for now, take a deep breath in and smile. Please don’t take for granted the awesome and amazing task you have been given to nurture His prized possession (your/His child). Now is the time to dream with God and ask Him to show you His plans for your bundle of joy.
We’ve heard of speaking positive affirmations, but let’s take it a step further. Now is the time to begin speaking God’s desires and dreams into your womb as it grows. Plant the seeds of heaven into the tiny ears of the child you are being given. It will be so amazing to see how your prayers and guidance into their personality today will shape the world we live in tomorrow. Thank you, expectant ones!
Mom: The Real Deal
Ready or not, your baby is here! Hold on for the most adventurous time in your life. The reality of your new role has finally hit you, and your life will never be the same.
It is no longer about just you. This is when you realize you care more for the one you’ve brought into the world than your own life. It is now you and the baby. Daily, your child is expecting to eat, be loved, and clothed. They are completely dependent on you. Your baby, who doesn’t care that you didn’t sleep last night because they have decided they need you, now! Your baby, who’s looking to you for lessons, covering, and fun!
This is the same child who will one day see you as “not understanding them” because you didn’t let them have their way. This is the time that you recognize the reality that you can’t do this thing alone. And yes, the fathers play a huge role in their development (and we will have a Father’s Day piece coming soon), but your shaping, molding, and equipping should ultimately be coming from the Creator Himself. He is the one that blessed you with this bundle of joy.
Please take a moment today to reflect on how important your role truly is in raising the next generation. You are not simply raising one child. With God’s guidance, you are nurturing the very nature of God in the earth. Whether you birthed or chose to bring home your child, please understand that your child will one day be responsible for influencing thousands, if not millions of people, from their community to the world. Yes, I said it. How you train them now will be reflected in how they interact with people day in and day out throughout their lives. How you train them now will dictate how they use their platform on social media. The effects of your actions and words will be seen throughout their lives.
And don’t be ashamed when you miss the mark. God loves you regardless, and He will help you get back on track. This is a key lesson God wants us all to learn. So please don’t take it lightly when you are teaching life lessons. Your time, effort, and support never go unnoticed. Thank you for doing your part in preparing the next generation for the world.
Mom: Reflecting On Your Legacy
I remember sitting at the funeral of my grandmother and listening to my father speak about his mom. Tears welled up in his eyes as he began to reflect back on the life of his mother. I watched this 6 feet 3 inches tall man cry like a baby as he told story after story of her love, dedication, and heart to see her babies “do well” in life.
The greatest legacy that any person can leave behind is love, for it represents God’s nature through us all in the earth. So today, as you reflect on your beautiful mother, please remember the lessons and the words of wisdom that will live on with you forever.
Remember the times she was cheering at your games? She was showing you that love is showing up and showing others that you care.
Remember when she held you in her arms after that girl broke your heart, reassuring you that everything will be okay, and she wasn’t good enough for you anyway? She was teaching you self-worth.
Remember when she taught you how to cook (okay…or at least make enough money to buy food)? She was preparing you for the family that you will one day have.
Remember when she gave you chores to do, even though you didn’t want to take out the trash? She was showing you that responsibility is showing up, whether you want to or not.
And remember when she showed you how to pray? She was teaching and preparing you on how to depend on the very one that would lead and guide you along the way throughout your life, because she knew one day she would be gone.
So even though mom is no longer here, her legacy lives on through you. And as her gift to this world, we say thank you as we celebrate her legacy!
Article was written by Felicia A Tate, CEO of You Light Up the World
Visit You Light Up the World
Co-Author, Marquetta Smith, CEO of Safe Harbor International Ministries
by Marquetta Smith | May 8, 2017 | Prophetic Words
Have you ever heard the phrase “made from scratch”? It’s a cooking phrase that many in the southern part of the U.S. grew up saying. It simply means that all the ingredients of a particular dish are “raw” ingredients instead of just simply adding water or milk to a mix. You can’t just go to the grocery store and pick up a cake mix on aisle 10 if you are cooking from scratch. And it takes more time, energy, and money to use the best ingredients for a particular dish.
But in the end, the results are a masterpiece. Rarely can you duplicate the exact taste and texture of a dish. At best, it’s simply a variation of what you created. Also, southern cooks rarely (if ever) use measuring cups. They measure by taste and make statements like, “I used a little bit of this, and a whole lot of that” to get it to taste the way they envisioned.
I was reflecting on this term last week, and was reminded of how God created us. Each and every one of His creation is designed from essential raw ingredients, and no two individuals are exactly alike. Not one person on this earth is a watered down version of the next. He literally took a little bit of this and a whole lot of that to create you and I. Everything from the texture of your hair, to the color of your skin, to the way you are moved by things around you, to your personality and gifts was specifically designed by God to be shared with the world.
So as you go about your day, pay attention to the people you encounter. Can you see the ingredients He used to make them unique? We are all so much more than the color of our skin and the texture of our hair. Take time to explore a person’s inner components. I’m speaking about their heart, habits, passions, skills, as well as their hurts and pains. We are all uniquely created and designed with key ingredients that together create masterpieces! How about that? You are a masterpiece!
Until next time!
You Light Up the World
by Marquetta Smith | May 4, 2017 | Prophetic Words
I had the pleasure of meeting a remarkable, resilient, and incredibly strong woman the other day. I was walking into one of the stores to get some shopping done, when I looked over and saw an elderly white woman sitting on a bench outside of the store. She was all alone with a sad look on her face. Reluctantly, I dashed into the store, trying to remember the mental grocery list I made in my head. “Eggs, cheese, milk…eggs, cheese, milk,” I repeated over and over again. I tried to stay focused on what I came into the store to buy, but that elderly lady I saw earlier wouldn’t leave my mind.
I finally completed my shopping and walked out of the store, and to my surprise, that lady was still sitting on the bench. It had begun to rain, and I started to worry about this little old lady sitting there.
I quickly walked up to her and asked her was she okay. She nodded and said she was fine. I asked her if she needed a ride home. She told me that she just lived around the corner in the nearby apartments, and that she was just fine to walk. “Thanks for asking,” she said to me. I felt in my heart I couldn’t leave her sitting on this bench all alone in the rain. I then asked her if I could sit with her. She turned to me and said that was the nicest thing anyone said to her all day.
Forgetting all about my groceries, we began to talk. She told me her name was Mrs. Davis, and that she was a widow who lived all alone. She explained to me how life had been extremely hard for her since her husband James died last year.
“He was a good man,” she exclaimed with so much joy in her eyes. Her face would light up so bright as she began to talk about her late husband. They had been married for 20 years. Mrs. Davis went on to tell me that this was her second husband, and that her first husband, who she was married to for 31 years, was very mean to her and so controlling. But her life quickly changed when she met James. She told me how James had treated her like a queen. Then she turned sad all at once when she began to tell me how James did not plan ahead financially. “James could not hold on to a penny,” as she laughed out loud.
In 2008, they lost everything. They had to file for bankruptcy and move into a tiny little apartment. But they were happy she said because they had each other. “That made the world of a difference,” she said. She told me that having each other made things much more bearable.
James died in December of 2012, and she told me how her world changed forever that year. Since her husband’s death, she had been living on a small social security check and had been receiving food stamps. She went on to tell me how it has been a struggle to renew her food stamps every six months.
She tried her best to describe how dealing with the Department of Human Services was just like dealing with her first husband: mean and very abusive. She told me how they would always lose her paperwork, and how the case managers would give her the runaround about what information they needed in order for her to renew her benefits. Many times the caseworkers wouldn’t call her back after leaving plenty of messages. When she had a chance to have a face to face to talk with her workers, they would be so mean and nasty to her. She said they made her feel less than human.
At that point in the conversation, my heart sunk, and I began to feel sick by all of what Mrs. Davis shared with me. She told me how she just doesn’t understand why it has been so hard to apply for benefits.
I discovered that day that Mrs. Davis was 75 years old and lived on an income of $771 a month. She struggled from month to month to pay her bills. We sat on that bench that day and talked for more than 2 hours. After we talked, I asked her why was she sitting on the bench all alone outside of the store. She said they didn’t renew her benefits that day because they could not find her in the system…again. The Department of Human Services changed computer systems last week, and many individuals’ information had been lost, leaving them with the painful steps of reapplying for benefits and submitting all of their paperwork again.
Mrs. Davis said that this had been the 5th time the department had done this to her, and that she was simply tired. She began to tell me how it felt being in need of needing government assistance, and how she felt ashamed, humiliated, and basically embarrassed. All of her life, she had cleaned houses and took care of other peoples’ children, and she is the one needing a little help now. She said to me, “I gave up, that’s why I’m sitting on this bench. I gave up.” She told me that she was sitting on this bench today to forget all about what she endured. “I just wish James was here.”
I only had $55.00 on me, and I asked Mrs. Davis if we could go into the store and get the items that she needed. Her eyes became brighter as she smiled at me and said, “I knew God was going to send me an angel today.”
I drove Mrs. Davis home that day as I silently asked God how could I be of help to Mrs. Davis without intruding on her privacy. Then it came to me. I asked her if I could help her with the process of applying for benefits. She was so excited to receive my help. I knew in my heart that God allowed out paths to cross for a reason: to advocate on behalf of Mrs. Davis.
Sadly, this story is so familiar to many Americans, all ages, all races, and all backgrounds. This story is beginning to turn into a loud, overwhelming cry for help that runs throughout our “great nation”. The cries of the people have reached a boiling point, and their cries cannot be overlooked, ignored, or even stamped out. The cries will only get louder and louder until the broken system is either fixed or dismantled, allowing for the new structure to emerge, a structure that will not put a bandaid on the problem, but truly give sound solutions to fix it.
The people are hurting, and we cannot continue as if nothing is wrong. One person cannot fix our broken system. It will take a collaborative effort of compassionate, strong, and determined groups of individuals and entities who are willing to bring about the change that is so desperately needed. The cries of the people are getting louder, and we cannot ignore them any longer. The system has failed them. Now it is time for individuals like you to take a stand and answer the call to help.
My challenge to you today is not to ignore the cries of the people, but to help us help all of the Mrs. Davises out there, and the countless Americans like her. Help me help them by donating to Safe Harbor International Ministries by visiting at www.safeharborim.com. Help me fight for all the Mrs. Davises.
Please share this story with as many people as you can. Help me help the people.
Note: names and actual events have been changed to protect individuals’ privacy.
Story by Marquetta Smith, advocate for the people
