I am Grateful for My Mother

Greetings in the most precious name of the Father and of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Blessed Holy Spirit:

I Thank Father God in The Name of Jesus Christ for the things that He has done and continues to do.  All Praise Glory and Honor belongs to Him.  Thank you Father for allowing me the privilege of seeing my mother’s 80^th birthday and helping her to celebrate it in a way that she deserves and will always remember.

 I would like to thank The Honorable Mayor Joseph T. McElveen, Jr. and the City of Sumter for their most kind and generous support of my mother’s 80th birthday celebration, acknowledging her with a Resolution that proclaimed July 26, 2012 as “Lucile Winn. Prince Day,” -- also awarding her with the Key to the City and a city pin. I would also like to thank City Councilman Robert Galiano for stopping by to wish Mother Prince Happy Birthday and thanking her for the many years of service in our schools.  I would also like to thank Ms. Linda Hammett, City Clerk, who so graciously and thoroughly assisted me.

Special thanks also go to Minister Cynthia Johnson and Minister Yvonne Nelson for the beautiful decorations, balloons and table ornaments that helped to set and create the atmosphere of celebration.  Special thanks go to Mrs. Gloria Carolina who took it upon herself to supply the lovely party favors and mementos.

Enormous thanks go to Mrs. Teigue and the staff of the Sumter/Lee Adult Education Center who attended in large numbers and recognized mom with a Proclamation of their own along with heartfelt sentiments and a very special gift.

Loving thanks and heartfelt gratitude go to our church family – Bishop Jeffery Johnson and Faith Deliverance Temple -- who didn’t think it robbery to come in large numbers and share in the celebration at Red Lobster and present Mother Prince with a surprisingly delicious arrangement and generous tokens of cards and letters of love.

Thanks go to my sister, Deirdre and nephew Tony for their melodious presentation.

A former 2^nd  and 3^rd grade student of mom’s, Mrs. Calandra Brunson Witherspoon, visited from Columbia and spoke of her admiration and love of Mother Prince.

A mutual graduate of Morris College and a friend of over 50 plus years, Mrs. Lou Emma Crayton (Homebound), sent a very moving letter of admiration and love to Mother Prince highlighting her Christian character and loving personality that perseveres through the hardships of life and lights the path of everyone around her. 

I am eternally grateful for The Item Newspaper sending Mr. Rob Cotttingham to photograph the celebration and interview mom.  I am equally grateful for WLTX TV-News 19 for sending Mr. Erick Ferris to video the event and interview mom for their station’s broadcast.

I am eternally grateful for all the contributions of all those who volunteered and helped to make this occasion so very successful and eternally memorable.  I am especially grateful for Rev. Dr. Lewis Walker Jr. of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, Mr. Ernest Session of Allstate Insurance Company and Mr. L. Harvin Bullock, Sumter County Coroner for assisting me in sponsoring this occasion. 

Last but certainly not least, I thank my daughter Melody for helping me with her grandmother and for keeping the secretes that made this occasion a surprise and a success.

To God be the Glory for the things that he has done.  Thank you all!  Amen!



 

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Where Does Your Loyalty Lie?

This week’s Word & Prayer is presented by our guest —Mother Lucile W. Prince.

Mother Lucile W. Prince is a semiretired public school teacher with over 48 years of teaching experience. At the blessed age of 79 (she will be 80 in one month) she continues to serve her State and community by teaching part-time at the Sumter Lee Adult Education Center, Sumter, South Carolina. I can truthfully say that God has called her to be a teacher and I am honored and blessed to have her as my mother and prayer partner.

May God be glorified for the things that He has done.

This Week's Word
(For an audio podcast download please visit Where Does Your Loyalty Lie)

Jesus said in Matthew 10:37:

“The person who loves his father or mother more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. The person who loves a son or daughter more than me does not deserve to be my disciple.”

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Human families are born into sin and shaped in iniquity and each individual member of a family is taught from birth that family is everything—their loyalty should always be to the family.  But Jesus challenges us to rethink that sentiment and to redefine the idea of family loyalty in the light of eternal life.  Jesus tells us that we will have to decide between following him or our human families. He is not going to share control of our lives with our families. He has paid the cost to be the boss in our lives with own precious blood. He deserves our uncompromising loyalty. (1 Corinthians 6:20 and Matthew 10:34-36)

We can never truly belong to God as long as our loyalties remain bound to our human relationships. We can never really know God unless we are willing to sacrifice our human relationships for the sake of Christ. We must be willing to deny ourselves the pleasures and comforts of relational intimacy in favor of eternal life with Christ. (Matthew 10:38)  Christ challenges us to decide whom we will serve. No one can be loyal to two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. This is what Jesus is pointing out to us in Matthew 10:37.

The Lord tells us that we must decide where our loyalties really lie; with family or with him?  He says it plainly that our priorities and ultimate loyalties must lie with him otherwise we disqualify ourselves from being his disciple.

Whenever we decide to relax God’s commandments for the sake of getting along with individual family members, we have disqualified ourselves as disciples of God.

Whenever we allow immoral family members to preach, teach or hold office in the church, we have chosen family over God.

Whenever we hear the Truth of God’s Commandment to Repent, to be baptized into water in the name the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, and we reject baptism because the family doesn’t believe in it, we have rejected God’s forgiveness in favor of the family’s approval.

Where Does Your Loyalty Lie?

Don’t let family send you to Hell.

REPENT!

This Week’s Prayer 

Father, I pray to You today in the name of *YeHoWsHua HaMashiach – Jesus the Christ. I love You Lord! From everlasting to everlasting You are God. Your Love and Your Faithfulness rescued me. There is no one who loves me like You do. There is not a family member or church member who cares for me like You. No one deserve my total loyalty and faithfulness but You. Please forgive me for the times when I put my family and friends above obeying Your Commandments. I repent to day and accept responsibility for my transgressions. Have Mercy On Me Oh LORD! Help me to a live a life in total submissive and subjective obedience to Your Word Your Way.  Empower me to crucify the needs and deeds of the flesh so that I may be counted as one of Your disciples.  This is my prayer today in the name of the LORD YeHoWsHua* (Jesus) the Christ, Amen.