Sunday, 3rd November, 2024
Bible Reading: Psalm 68:6
Memory Verse: I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. 2 Timothy 1:5 (NLT)
The family is the smallest unit of the society and perhaps the most important. The problem in any society can be linked to the problem in the family. It is little droplets of water that make a mighty ocean. Dysfunctional children are majorly from dysfunctional families. On the other hand, many children have a house (mere building), but not a home.
A home is a place of mutual love, togetherness and shared values. Your family culture will most likely shape your life. Your family culture will surely give birth to your family values. We shall continue to talk about dysfunctional society until we give premium attention to the family unit.
Talking about her early years as a child in an interview granted by Monarch, Dr Trisha Bailey said, “Oh yes, my childhood was extremely happy. I was raised by my grandmother along with my aunt and my sister. I cherish my grandmother; she was the most amazing woman ever. We didn’t have much, but at the time, I didn’t know it because we were happy children. There was no TV, electricity, or running water.
We walked three and a half miles to school each day. But everyone around us had the same life, so we didn’t know we were missing anything. Our family bond was to care for each other in every aspect of our lives. Being in that space built character and resilience; it taught me the meaning of hard work but also how to be kind and loving to the people that surround me.” Dr Trisha was taught hardwork.
Today she has 16 businesses. She said, “I had to work my knuckles and my kneecaps off, but that drive comes from my grandmother. Every week I watched my grandmother and my aunt start at 2 a.m. They would load a donkey with all the farming we produced, then they would walk 25 miles to the market, work all day selling the produce and various other items, then walk 25 miles back to home. So that work ethic was always ingrained in me.
When you work hard, everything else becomes easier. As I transitioned into corporate America, I carried that work ethic with me.” Dr Trisha lived amongst happy people. No wonder she wants to make others happy. She donated to fund research and treatments against blood cancer at The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
She also gave financial aid and scholarships to 270 Caribbean students through her charity Bailey-Archie’s Charitable Foundation. She made the largest athletic donation in the history of University of Connecticut to renovate and expand a building.
Conclusion: Intentional Parenting! Visionary Parenting!! Parents, please go out of your way to be the best you can be. This is not primarily a function of how much money you have, but how much time, love and energy you are willing to invest in your home in developing great family values for your children.
Quote: Members of a family travel the world over in search of what they need, and only return home to find it.
Prophetic Decree: I cut off the hand of the devil causing disunity and rancor in every home, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Holy Spirit, please heal our homes in Jesus name.
2. Holy Spirit, baptize our generation with wisdom for intelligent parenting, in Jesus name.
3. O Lord, please make me a parent that will pattern my children after Christian values, in Jesus name.
4. My home shall be a habitation for the Holy Spirit, in Jesus name.
5. We commit the hearts of dysfunctional children into the hands of God. May they encounter Christ, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 11, John 12