Friday, May 31, 2013

Stretching First

Stretch your tent curtains wide...
A Missy story:


"I can do the splits!"

All of Missy's sisters and her brother just looked at Jacky, not exactly knowing how to respond to her statement.  It's not like they wanted to judge the honesty of Jacky's word, but she didn't quite fit the typical I-can-do-the-splits physique.  The children's faces must have told Jacky what they didn't dare say.

"I know what you're thinking."  Jacky burst out while she placed herself in the center of the room, "Just because I'm chunky does not mean I can't do the splits."

Chunky?  Missy thought her 4th grade teacher Mrs. Farlow was chunky.  She was sure that you could fit at least three Mrs. Farlows inside one Jacky.  Missy watched as Jacky stood as tall as her body would allow her to stand with her arms out, as if she was an eagle perched high on the edge of a mesa, waiting for the perfect moment of an upwind from the valley below so that it could jump and take flight.

Jacky had only been renting Missy's family's spare room for a few weeks.  Since they barely knew Jacky it was impossible to know if this was a joke or not.  Missy waited anticipating the moment Jacky would step out of her pose and put everyone at ease, saying that she was just a big joker.

From the doorway Missy's mom broke the silence, "Jacky, are you sure you can do the splits?"

Jacky cheerfully kept her stance, "Sure I can, I use to be a cheerleader."  She gave a smile and without much warning Jacky jumped as high as she could, threw her legs out to each side and BAM!  Her body slammed hard on the floor as her legs landed in opposite directions.  Jacky had indeed landed in the splits.

Missy couldn't decide if she should cheer or laugh.  Knowing that laughter was not really appropriate she joined the others in their cheers, sort of.  Her little brother Ralph's cheer seemed to be flavored with chuckles.  Her little sister Candy's cheers sounded more like a cross between congratulating and reprimanding.  Missy's older sister Sherry spoke up first, "That was really surprising Jacky..." her voice cracking just a bit as she tried her hardest to give an honest reaction.  Missy didn't want to make a mockery out of Jacky's efforts but it was becoming increasingly funny by the minute.

Jacky's eyes sort of turned inward and her forehead wrinkled up.   As she sat in the splits position her smile seemed to resemble the smile Candy use to have when she was a toddler still learning how to pose for a picture.  A "frowning smile" as her mom put it.  Jacky froze, her arms up high as if she had just stuck a landing as a gymnast in the Olympics, with this interesting not-so-pleasant but trying-to-be-pleasant disposition.

Was Jacky stuck?  Missy wondered how Jacky was going to get out of that position.  Her mom walked up to Jacky, "Are you all right?  Do you need help getting up?"  Now that would be a sight... Missy's mom, in her 8th month of pregnancy with her 5th child, helping Jacky, who could be 400 times heavier than the 10 pound limit Missy's mom was allowed to carry in her third trimester, stand up from a full splits position.  The situation seemed to get more funny as Ralph looked at Missy trying to hold back.  Soon all the children were trying not to laugh with their lips closed tight.  

Jacky forced a frowning smile at her audience and said, "Oh I'm fine! I guess I could have stretched first, I haven't really done that in years."  She rolled her body back slowly into a sitting position.

"Okay kids, it's time for bed."  Missy's mom hurried everyone off into the hallway and towards their bedrooms.  Missy glanced back as she saw Jacky lifting her legs up with her hands and guiding them together.

For the next month or so Jacky walked slowly with a slight limp.  When asked if she was okay Jacky insisted she was just fine and did not get hurt at all when she tail-dived into the splits.  Candy asked Jacky if she would do it again, Jacky cleverly changed the subject.

Jacky's body was far removed from what it had once been.  Missy thought about those splits and the spectacle Jacky had made of herself.  She thought about how hard it was not to laugh.  Missy wondered how that could have been avoided and finally concluded that being aware of the condition of her body was probably essential before Jacky's butt dive...even if the dive had been made before.  Missy was sure that if Jacky had stretched first she would have realized that her body was not prepared to do the splits.

~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~
Isaiah 54:2 says, “Enlarge the place of your tent, Stretch your tent curtains wide, Do not hold back; Lengthen your cords, Strengthen your stakes.” 

Thursday, May 30, 2013

4 Traditions 4 Father's Day

4 Traditions...
Issue: Father's Day
In This Issue
Hand in Hand Photo
The ABC Book
Frequent Father Card
Your the Best Dad EVER
2012 headshot
Michelle Fozounmayeh
A joy filled wife and mom that enjoys writing, praying, speaking at women events and being an Area Coordinator with the ministry Moms In Prayer International.
  
Want a quick prayer encouragement on the first of every month?

Click "Join our Mailing List" and start recieving Michelle's iPray eVotionals!




iPray eVotionals...





iFinish Strong

iThank God for That

iFollow

iWork Out

iReminisce

iPray 4 Protection

iPray 4 Purity

iSmell a Stain

iEmbrace

iPraise

iLove Deep and Wide

iPray 4 Newness

iTeeter-Totter
hats
We live in a world where we wear many "hats".  Even though we all have many parts of ourselves trying to survive...
Many Parts of Me
(click link for "hats" script)

Traditions do not have to make our world even more hectic!  It's not about doing more... it's about doing less!  It's about doing what matters!
traditions
Greetings!

Throughout the years I have come to have a deep respect for the role family rituals and traditions have on the healthy state of our family.

For many years I worked as a Family Consultant with Once Upon A Family and picked up a few ideas.  Although traditions in our home have had seasons of success and seasons of rest or have had to be modified and/or changed to fit our family's needs, they still exist!  

Each issue of 4 Traditions features ideas I have gathered and/or created that you can use or modify to fit your family's needs.
Hand in Hand Photo
Father's Day is the perfect time to take a photo of Dad's hand with your children's hands resting in his palm.  Over the years, these photos will record the growth and change in your children, and they will hold memories that dad will cherish forever.  Take this same photo every year and print one copy to place in a Father's Day book.  Your children and their father can even add signatures, which will also change as the years go by.  Everyone will look forward to the annual photo and Father's Day will not be complete until the picture is taken.
The ABC Book
A great way to let Dad know how much you love him is to create an ABC Book.  This is a perfect activity to do with small children who are learning their ABC's.  Make a small book (6 inches square) with 26 pages and a cover of card weight paper that is decorated with  your child's artwork.  An easy way to assemble it is to punch three to five holes on the left side of each sheet of paper, stack them all together, then lace ribbon through the holes and tie it at the top.  Ask your children to think of things they love about their Dad or activities they enjoy doing with him.  Find something that corresponds to each letter of the alphabet.  For example, A is for Angel games "I love going to Angel games and eating hotdogs with Dad."  Use a ticket stub, photograph or your child's drawing to adorn this page.  Older children can work on this together with the younger ones to create a gift Dad will look for ward to receiving each year and cherish forever.
Frequent Father Card
Make a credit card for Dad that will soon become the most valuable card in his wallet.  This is called the Dates with Dad card.  List every month of the year on the backside, and use it to schedule and record one special outing with Dad every month.  Each child will have to present his/her own card to Dad as a Father's Day Gift if they want to reserve that special time together.  Dates with Dad could be whatever the two of them want to do together.  An all day fishing trip, an afternoon at the movies, help on a special hobby, or a special Breakfast.  The important thing is that they plan time together, just the two of them.  Dad can keep this special card in his wallet to remind him of the most important appointments he has scheduled that month.  One his Dates with Dad card has expired, he has a year full of memories and a wonderful keepsake that will bring those memories back once his children are grown.  It will also be just in time to receive a new card!  They can continue this monthly tradition forever.
Your the Best Dad Ever
Every year, ask each of your children what they love most about their Dad.  Write their answers on little cards cut in the shape of a man's tie.  They can be made with a variety of colored construction paper, and embellished with stripes or plaids.  Your children will have fun hiding these cards in places where they are sure to be found in the morning...inside Dad's favorite coffee mug, underneath his shaving cream, on the door out to the newspaper, etc.  He will wonder why everyone is watching him so closely as he starts to pour himself a cup of coffee that next morning.  After collecting all of his Father's Day notes of appreciation, you can collage them into a Father's Day book with your annual photo of "surprise" as Dad discovers one in a place he didn't expect.  This is a tradition he will really look forward to each year.
 
All 4 HIM,
 

MICHELLE FOZOUNMAYEH
My Blog 

Friday, May 10, 2013

No Longer Hidden


Today God told me that the hidden girls that He had me praying for were NO LONGER HIDDEN!

Before I explain let me first say that I am a flawed individual who knows God’s grace has no boundaries and never stops short.

In 2010 God placed it on my heart to pray earnestly for kidnapped teens.  I prayed for them, not knowing them at all but knowing that they were out there.  I prayed with tears in my eyes and pain in my chest from the long-suffering I could perceive.   I pleaded that God would give them what they needed to survive and that He would make a way for a rescue!  I asked Him if He could tell me when they were freed.

At the same time, God laid it on my heart to revisit my past so that I may receive even deeper healing myself and become the vessel God needs me to be for others.  In response I wrote a poem.  A LONG poem.  In it being long, it reflects the healing that comes through Jesus in His timing.  God is in charge of the process, it is not for us to determine how fast and in what way wounds will and should be healed.  Pick at it and you mess with the scabby process and start to bleed again.  Trust the process through every annoying itchy stage and you will persevere and become the testimony God needs for a hurting world.  A scarred testimony that is living proof of a living God.  

Today God told me that the hidden girls that He had me praying for were NO LONGER HIDDEN!  I’m full of praise and joyous celebration along with the rest of the world.  In recent news the world has heard about the most amazing escape from captivity!  Three women were kidnapped as teens by the same perpetrators on separate occasions and were held in bondage and captivity for 10 years together.  They were stripped from their freedom, innocents and purity.  The world heard the 911 call a few days ago, “I’m here and I’m free now!”  We heard the cries from these women as they were rescued. 

Copy and past this link for the rescue story:  
http://abcnews.go.com/US/amanda-berry-gina-dejesus-return-home-cheers/story?id=19131036#.UY1I2pUqMy4

They are NO LONGER HIDDEN!!!!!!

Those words reminded me of the poem that I wrote and hid away when God first placed them on my heart in 2010.  In the memory of writing it I realized today that my prayers were not to end, who better to pray these women through healing than me and others like me?  I may never know them on this earth, but God will use the willing, and I am.

God clearly said to me that now is the time to share my poem, it is NO LONGER HIDDEN and I have nothing to fear.

This poem is RAW.  It may even be uncomfortable to read.  We cannot speed healing up for others or ourselves when we are walking in God’s presence trusting His timing.  As you enter the different stages of a healing 7-year-old girl know that God is victorious, that his healing is complete.  That at every stage I have became increasingly freed from the bondage of bitterness and live in a state of forgiveness.  My story involves others along the way, other flawed but completely forgiven individuals.  

God’s grace has no boundaries and never stops short...


No Longer Hidden

What makes a person
Not be destroyed
When their world was rocked
By the predator’s ploy

Taught to follow directions
Taught to obey
Not warned of the evil
That steals innocence away

“Relax” he says
So I do and it takes it’s course
It hurts in the dark
And it hurts even more

“Shhh” I hear
When the touches increase
Confused, can’t understand
And trapped in my sleep

Taught to trust him
To follow a command
Dishonor or disrespect?
Must submit to his hand

But I don’t like it
It makes my body move
A spot I didn’t know I had
His finger pushes through

OUCH!
Faintly I whisper, “no”
“It’s OK” he says
My reality just goes

It’s ok it’s ok
It’s ok when it’s not
It’s ok to betray
And to trigger that spot

Trust is shattered
Now I just endure
When will this stop?
What it’s for I’m not sure.

Closed my eyes each night
More and more came
More inside me
Endure and endure the same

Broken
No end
Desperate
Remain
Courage
To talk
“Please stop
The pain.”

Stillness
Quite 
All alone
At last
Changed
No breath
Dead spirit
It’s passed

It’s ok it’s ok
It’s ok to forget
It’s ok to love him
When the next day is lit

On the phone
Struggling with words to define
“You must have been dreaming
But your awake now and your fine”

Start pretending
Believe the lie
Pain forgotten
No, just shoved inside

Grace without truth
A license to sin
I can do that
Immorality begins

I was 7 then
But now I’m 14
The blurred line remains
It’s Ok what’s not seen

Walls of protection
As the little girl cries
Do but don’t bond
As the teenager denies

What keeps a person
From sin that bounds?
Is it all that prayer
That God kept me around?

Truth be told
I knew of Grace
It’s all I had
In my hiding place

Freedom to express
An outlet is gained
Acting on stage
Pretending to be sane

In the process
A talent grows
Nothing wasted
In every show

To each character
I learned to be true
Fully devoted
I wore every shoe

Then true friendships
Opportunities to cope
Relationships
That filled me with hope

I was 7 then
But now I’m 21
Time for healing
Hiding is done

What is hidden
Traps us tight
For real freedom
Truth must see light

God’s Gentle process
A little girl wants release
So first it’s in a gift
A partner that loves me

A vessel of a new view
Supportive and trustworthy
No hidden manipulation
Willing to give and show mercy

Full of truth and sacrifice
So love is not what I thought
It does not shame my life
Or hurt me and control my spots

Face the truth
Let down the protective wall
Bondage from that sin
Is no small task to let fall

Allowed to be 7
And cry cuz it hurt
To say I was betrayed
I was treated like dirt

He did not act in love
Self absorbed ambition
With a desire to control
And feed a sinful condition

Disregarding the pain
Right before his eyes
Teaching that it’s ok
To feel his physical high

Crafty deception
Just compartmentalize
He’s “good with kids”
We all trust this “nice guy”

The betrayal digs deep
It destroyed my youth
Stolen away from me
A healthy relationship view

The little girl mourns
“I wasn’t given a chance”
Feeling the pain more
“You robbed my life dance”

It’s not ok it’s not ok
It’s not ok to pretend
It’s not ok this happened
God will heal where I’ve been

A testimony
Is not found in the dark
So I pray that someday
This will be a Kingdom mark

With my love by my side
I come clean at last
Some share my cries
While others just gasp

Tears and more tears
Freedom in saying it too
The burden is lifted
I’m cleansed, made new

Grace plus Truth
The juggling act
Evening the scale
Unwanted impact

Opened my mail
A note, a petition
“This is why it happened
I hope you won’t mention”

Going into marriage
I needed to be clean
I’m not out to destroy
Just reveal the unseen

Two times again
He talks in 3rd person
Fearing exposure
Fearing it will worsen

He Apologizes
He’s forgiven
He says “It’s done”
To all of it I listen

I was 7 then
But now I’m 28
Growing whole
And in my faith

An acting career
Lots of parts
But in South Africa
A perspective starts

I’ve got the talent
But again and again
Nothing glorifies
The One who gave this gem

Sin is a bad weed
That drains a fruit plant
My fruit seems ripe
But taste it I can’t

Right when you think
Something is in the past
Realization is met
Healing is not so fast

No quick fixes
In God’s time
Submit to the now
Let God draw the lines

And so pretending
Even in some small way
Keeps part of the root
Of falsehood at play

Search me and try me
I said it out loud before
To be a real kingdom player
I want to heal even more

No more pretending
My spirit grows weary
I want to glorify
Stop acting, Cold Turkey!

And that’s not all
Married and ready
“After years let’s try
To have a new baby

“It will not be passed on
In the power of Jesus’ name”
Humble to change the goal
Life’s not about my fame

A weed chopped at its base
Now the roots must die
Willing to do what it takes
To never live in a lie

See that is the root
That caused him to sin
To pass bondage on
Where nobody can win

My acting out
May look more pure
But coping is not freedom
That I know for sure

I don’t want any part
Of a root like that 
I want a new view
A new season, a new hat

Then the call came
He’s on the other side
Looking at my baby girl
I sit down in the tide

But what he didn’t expect
Was a girl full grown
Not willing to submit
To a controlling tone

I had a goal
To not live in a lie
“Get behind me satin,
You can’t win if you try!”

Fear of exposure
I guess he was found out
Call to silence me
He can’t loose his clout

I’m not behind the talk
But it’s an interesting thing
He pleaded for silence
He said he was clean

“It” won’t work
There is no way
Old age maybe
Or maybe God’s say

And all I can think of
Is that need to control
That hidden place
That traps a soul

I’m a walking testimony
Is he still trapped?
“Shhh” I hear
Like I’m 7 on his lap!

A familiar tone
“It’s OK to forget”
What? Continue bondage?
Oh no, not with my whit!

We are not in heaven yet
That is the sad truth
Here I’m completely changed
Because of the abuse

Sin entered my life
Not by my choice
Jesus is healing the wound
I WILL glorify with my voice

Oh, I’ve prayed to forget
But it’s the thorn in my side
That keeps me honest
So to GOD I can abide

And what good
Is found in the dark?
My plea in prayer
Was for a kingdom mark

I  said where I was at
All in first person
Caught him off guard
Not a comfortable position

“You abused authority
When I was only 7
It’s not yours to take back
My authority’s under heaven

“I’ll claim the victory
Only found in Christ
It takes open testimony
Not in malice, I’m nice”

“Relax” he says
As he reasons with me,
“People use to forgive
And also forget you see.”

I feel the scale shift
Grace slipping aside
Is he forgetting the truth
While asking me to abide?

I speak more harsh
“Are you kidding me?
 You stole from my love
And want to keep it unseen!

“I forgive you for sure
The sin is in the past
And God’s grace on us
Is sufficient and will last

“But if your definition
Of forgiving is to lie
To not bring this around
To not testify

“Then you are asking
Me to stay trapped
And that I can’t do
I have a baby on MY lap”

I prayed while I spoke
“I’m free from all lies”
The end of his control
Is what he must have realized

“If God wants’ me to
I’ll talk about overcoming
About freedom from sin
For a heart that is willing”

“Well,” He responds,
“You sure have a voice and a will”
Not really appreciating
The courage God had instilled

“I’ll pray for you,” he ended
The conversation cut short
But I knew God was pleased
I’m not destroyed by a torch

Freedom and growth
I want it for all
But it takes time
To become that tall

I was 7 then
But now I’m 35
In front of crowds
A testimony thrives

I had to revisit
The time of pain
To tell the truth
To teach and train

Trapped in time
Was a little girl
Now released
My dress can twirl

Trapped in time
Was a little boy
Controlled by fear
Grasping for his toy

He remembers the moment
Of sexual abuse
By a trusted man
There is no excuse

Reason it away
Stay on top
Say, “It’s ok”
Even to a cop

He hid the times
Where sin just feeds
And multiplied
Because unmet needs

Behavior masked
Where a heart was attacked
The condition was severe
Secret sin kept him trapped

Trying to heal
In a hidden place
Trying to grow up
To warp time and space

What makes a person
Not be destroyed
When their world was rocked
By the predator’s ploy

When his heart gave out
He came face to face
With Jesus Christ
With truth and grace

Given the chance
To heal the right way
But healing takes time
No matter what you say

Right when you think
Something is in the past
Realization is met
Healing is not so fast

No quick fixes
In God’s time
Submit to the now
Let God draw the lines

As He does
We stand in awe
Live to worship
Gratitude so raw

Sometimes it hurts
Other times “it’s ok”
But always liberating
To do it His way

To embrace His love
Light of our soul
Let go even deeper
Giving up our control

A revengeful heart
Is a horrible trend
Hate the evil
But not the person within

Why fester bitterness
That is part of the root
Repent of it all
Give it the boot

Then redemption is met
Little children released
From all anger and malice
To see others as God sees

I saw a boy’s eyes
Looking back and forth
At the demons that surround
After he fell from the force

I never met the boy
Whose head hit the ground
But I can see where
He came back around

Our “tries” can fall short
But God knows our heart
As long as we are honest
Taking care of “our part”

We can’t will
Change in our lives
That is God’s job
Ours is to abide

God’s spirit is alive
To be able to wipe out
A wicked weed so deep
It’s what salvations about

I don’t know
Did the boy grow up?
I trust in God
And his healing touch

All I need to do
Is go forward all new
Praise God for protection
From the predator’s stew

No more guilt
No more waste
Must continue 
In truth and grace

Cut from distractions
Humble to repent
This generation gets
A fully present parent

Able to read
And teach about
Heart conditions
And sin called out

Able to love
And fully embrace
Complete acceptance
The right kind of Grace

No lonely road
See, Jesus was sent
Not a lone ranger
We are interdependent

Struggles they know
I’ll pray them through
With so much compassion
I won’t hide their truth

And they will know
That we all have failed
The only perfect
Comes from Jesus’ bail

In humble repentance
Freedom we find
God’s full acceptance
Nothing can bind

I can’t see the future
But I trust in the unseen
I can see the hope
That perseverance can bring

I can rejoice in the truth
That has set us free
I can and I will
It’s not just for me

Our stories may differ
But this is the same
We are not destroyed
Because Jesus came

It is only God’s power
And His spirit in us
That sets us free
From what is not just

A life time of bondage
Is a life without freedom
And missed opportunities
To further his Kingdom

My girl is 7
My boy is 5
I pray for childhood
Not a place to hide

And when they are teens
I pray for a healthy view
Where fertilized time
Grows juicy fruit new

And into their twenties
Abiding in Love
Able to give and receive
All gifts from above

As healthy adults
My prayer is stronger yet
The lessons passed on
They will never forget

And on and on
Generations to follow
God is redeeming
The serpents swallow

That’s were it started
And we know the end
In the middle
We live to mend

No longer hidden
Don’t go and hide
You are dead to that
Jesus made you alive

Does God forget one
And pass him by
He never gives up
YOU are the why


By Michelle Fozounmayeh
Written on June 6, 2010
Slightly modified on May 10, 2013