Meet Pastor Donald & Elder Lily Jenkins!!

PRAISE GOD FOR THE GOOD THINGS HE HAS DONE!!
June 10, 2010

Now come and celebrate with us on July 10, 2010, at 5:00P.M. as we seal our union with the celebration of the rings! It will take place at the Petite Auburge Restaurant, 2935 North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta, GA. RSVP at lilyratliff@gmail.com before July 1st! Look below for more info!

Ring Celebration: A Celebration of Purpose

Marriage contains a hidden meaning of purpose that’s often not explored. Being able to capture purpose within a union is a sign of sealing the union from the influence of a negative culture. In marriage, the ring is an eternal symbol that reflects the wisdom of the Hebrew letter called Samech. The appearance of the letter Samech is circular in nature like the ring and it carries the meaning of divine support.

The message of the letter Samech declares that ‘all things rise and fall on support’. It can clearly be seen in the support that comes from a family unit. The devil knows that the easiest way to destroy communities is to remove the element of support within families. The ring celebration is a celebration of two people who are committed to building support within the family unit. It is a celebration of two people who fully understand that their union is one that reflect the culture of heaven and supported by the hand of God.

Please join us as we seal our union with divine purpose with a special celebration of our rings that signifies divine support. This is our way of commemorating our union and reclaiming the purpose of the family unit as we move forward and anticipate what God has in store for our family. The event will be held at the Petite Auberge Restaurant on July 10, 2010 at 5:00P.M. It is located in the Toco Hill Shopping Plaza at 2935 North Druid Hills Road, Atlanta, GA 30329. Cost of the meal is $25.00 per person (tax and gratuity is included). Dinner includes a salad of mixed greens, a choice of three entrees-chicken cordon bleu, beef burgundy roast, or grilled salmon, and dessert (chocolate mousse, or strawberries a la Romanoff).

Order of celebration:
1. Welcome
2. Opening Scriptures and Prayer
3. Ring Presentation & Statements of Purpose from couple
4. Ministers Blessings
5. Communion
6. Blessing of the woman of the home
7. Blessing the children
8. Lighting the Menorah
9. Dinner
10. Celebratory Dance

Attire: we are asking all ladies to wear RED. Men can be business casual and wear some form of RED in their outfit. The bride will be the only one in WHITE/IVORY.

A Special Day

Hello everyone. Today marks my 35th birthday! Wow it just seemed like yesterday that I was knee high to a grasshopper, eating mud pies in the front yard, running and playing tackle football with the boys and having an all out good time, just being a kid with my cousins from Florida. I miss those times. Even though some of it was filled with confusion and hopelessness of ever truly getting the love I wanted from some of my family members, I can honestly say I did have somewhat of a good childhood. But there are many children that do not get that chance. Many of them have to grow up and be adults long before the rightful age of 18 because of death, or parents are addicted to drugs, or other unfortunate circumstances that makes them have to make some pretty hefty decisions in order to survive.

Right at this moment, I am down with a cold, have had laryngitis for the past four days, and in bed, praying that I have a full recovery soon. Which I know my God in Heaven hears me and is working it out---I already have the victory! Amen! However, there are those who did not and could not wake up this morning to claim a new start to a new day.

God I'm thankful for another birthday. A beautiful day outside, the birds are chirping, the weather is gorgeous, and I can see all of this, even if it means from the confinement of my bedroom window. I thank you. Give everyday that you live, a day that you say thank you for living! Thank Him in the good times and the bad. Thank Him when you don't feel like it. And thank Him when everything is peachy-keen. Why? Because tomorrow is not promised. We must live for today. If He never did another thing for us, it's alright because He already gave His ultimate sacrifice, His only begotten Son-Jesus!

Do you know that there are 71 verses that constantly admonishes us to give THANKS? It's when we give thanks and praise to God that we will be blessed, healed, delivered, set free, our harvest comes, the will of God over our lives are made manifested, etc. Instead of moaning (I'll admit I tried to do that today), complaining, and being pitiful over our circumstances, we should be thankful for what we do have, what God has brought us out of, and claim the victory which is already ours! Thank you Jesus!

It says in 1 Chronicles 16:34: O give thanks unto the LORD; for [he is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever. In Psalms 140:13, it states, "Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence." I want to dwell in His presence. The presence of God will begin to overtake you as you get deep into praise and worship of Him.

I also like this scripture--2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are bound or obligated to praise and give thanks to God, because He chose us--we didn't choose Him. He chose us for salvation and we in turn should go out and share that same Gospel to others who may not be saved. That is something to praise God about! Hallelujah!

So to God, I thank you! I love you for who you are to me! You're my everything! And to all of my friends and subscribers who have chosen to read my messages and blog posts because it inspires and encourages you, I thank and love you as well! Everyone be blessed on this day! It's a special day in the Lord!

The Heart of the Matter

Happy Holidays everyone!

It has truly been awhile since I’ve blogged to all of you and I must admit, I miss it! But lots have been going on with me since the last time I’ve placed a devotion or a reflection here that I must share with you!

I have been doing a lot more speaking lately! God has commissioned me to speak to others not only on my book and testimony but on the Heart of the Matter. What is it that truly concerns us? What is it within us that still causes us to be consumed with bitterness, despair, and the feeling that our prayers are not being answered? When we truly look at our hearts and do some soul searching, we may find that there are issues that plague us to the point of blocking all that God has for us, including the promise of our purpose here on Earth. Ultimately, God’s purpose will be fulfilled, however it may take longer, just as Moses and the Israelites did when traveling for 40 years in the wilderness, or he may find someone else more suitable to fulfill it that truly has a heart for God. Remember if you don’t use the talents God has given you, He will take it away and give it to someone else. What is it that you have been gifted with that you are truly not using for the glory of God? Think of this seriously and declare that in 2009, you will use what God has given to you, not by right or by your own merit or right, but because he loves you and wants to truly bless you!

Below is not only my taped message, done in Riverdale, GA on December 20, 2008, but also a written excerpt to get your juices flowing in preparation for what you are about to hear. I pray God’s blessing over you as we embark on the greatest year of our lives! Our harvest is about to come! Happy New Year!

My CD Sermon

There’s been many times in my life in which I had gone through one bad relationship to the next carrying the same old baggage. It’s true that what you normally go through during your childhood, with the men in your life (Uncles, fathers, brothers), you many times end up finding those same traits in the men you date. It’s as if your subconscious mind or soulish spirit seeks after those types of men. Especially if you yourself don’t know how to rebuke and bind up that generational curse over your life, making sure to ask God to send you a God-fearing man, so that you two are evenly yoked together. You don’t have to settle ladies. You are heirs and the righteousness of God. So I went through life, naïve and ignorant to what the Lord was trying to tell me. I knew I was saved. My grandparents put the fear of God in me early in life. But it was who I hung around once out from under them and on my own that influenced me the more. Put it this way-think about one of your friends that may not be in the Lord. They ask you repeatedly to go out with them to a nightspot. You continually tell them no. But it takes that one time, when you weren’t prayed up, or you had your guard down, and you finally said yes. That’s strike one with the devil. So you go out with them. While there, all of the people around you are dancing and drinking. You know you don’t drink. It makes you sleepy and besides, You’re a Christian. But that one time when your friend says, “Oh, it won’t hurt just to take a glass of wine.” “Ok, I guess I will have just one glass.” That’s strike two. The devil is about to win the inning. One glass of wine becomes two, and then three. What was once just a casual night out becomes much more because by then, someone who looks like Morris Chestnut has asked you to the dance floor, knowing by your mannerisms, he can take advantage of the situation if he wanted to. You’ve lost control of your senses. Strike Three-the devil has you now and the Holy Spirit is grieved that when you had the means to escape, you allowed yourself to slip.

In 1Cr 10:13, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

It’s amazing that your parents and even grandparents tell you things for your own good, many times because they’ve been through what you are now getting into. It’s not what you are ‘going through’, but ‘getting into.’ Because it didn’t have to be that way. It’s the choices that we make that determines our future outcomes. When you get yourself into things, you haven’t asked God for guidance, you felt, “I can do this on my own” and without God’s blessings, you have left his covering for a time, and it’s like being without your mother or father, and you’ve been left in the middle of a big field, with people all around you that doesn’t look like either one of them. Without a shield of protection and loving arms of the one that loves you the most. When you were younger, you didn’t want to hear what your parents had to say. The best way you thought to get them off of your back was to say, “Ok” or “I know ma.” So as you went through different situations, you ended up getting yourself caught up in the very thing they advised you on. By then, it was too late. So then you would plead with God, and say to yourself, ‘If you get me out of this situation, I won’t let it happen again.’ And it hurt you very badly. But it could have been avoided if you had just listened. Many people have to learn from experience. It’s not going to sink in for some people until they themselves go through it. Yes, it may end up a painful situation, but a life lesson indeed that ultimately works for our good. Amen!

In His Love,

Cry out to the Lord

Many times I have told the Lord my cares, hurt and pains. It seems like my world around me is caving in. Financially it seems like I have more bills than money and can’t afford to feed my family. My dearest family member’s health is fading and need a healing touch. And even though I give my last to you Lord sacrificially, I still feel sometimes that my change won’t come soon enough. Gas is high, my husband just got laid off from his job of twenty years, and we are down to scraps in the refrigerator. Lord I need you NOW!

How many of you feel this way? We all have cried out to God in desperation at some time or another. I have been one of those that felt hopeless and depressed through trials and tragedy. But I tell you, once you tap into the power of God, and learn of Him in a mighty way, your change starts to take shape.

Recently, I’ve asked God for several things to happen in my life, personally and professionally. I did indeed feel that after all of the promoting of my book, travels to and fro various destinations, and investing into different marketing materials, I had come to a dead halt in everything financially. Personally, I had moved to Atlanta for the increase in pay as an educator, and a brand new home (Thanks to God). But then after a few months of really diving into the business as an author and writer, my business became personal as I reached into my personal funds to cover my writing expenses. Many authors have done that a time or two, expecially if they didn’t have a solid business plan, (which I’ve learned now how to do).

So I began to have more bills than money. My daughter needed things that I couldn’t always provide right away. Then she had a severe growth of fungus that occurred on her head that I thought she would not be able to fully heal from. But God! After crying out to God (many of you have been praying for her), seeking God’s face and his ever working healing power, not only was my daughter healed, but my finances started to increase. After taking Asia back and forth to the doctor and losing personal and sick time in the process, I should have had less money in my check that would have severely affected me and my bills for the month. But even with those monies docked from my pay, I still had over $500.00 more in my check this month!!! To top it off, my check next month will be even more than that! My God! Hallelujah! God knew what I needed and came through like he has always come through!

Saints, when your back is up against the wall, and you feel like all hope is gone, God shows up mightily in your life. But you have to believe and trust that He can do it!

Of course, there’s other things that I’m looking for God to do, and when He does, I will give you that praise report as well! Magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together!

I Hope

I hope that I will always be for each person
what he or she needs me to be.
I hope that each person’s death will diminish me,
but that fear of my own will never diminish my joy of life.
I hope that my love for those whom I like will never lessen
my love for those whom I do not.
I hope that another person’s love for me will never
be a measure of my love for him or her.
I hope that everybody will accept me as I am,
but that I never will.
I hope that I will always ask for forgiveness from others,
but will never need to be asked for my own . . .
I hope that I will always recognize my limitations,
but that I will construct none.
I hope that loving will always be my goal,
but that love will never be my idol.
I hope that everyone will always have hope.

-Henri Nouwen

I read this poem and cried! This is ME! How many of you have hope like this?

In His Love,

Lily