Category Archives: Inspirational Thoughts

The day my life changed, part 3

09 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by in Growing Pains, Inspirational Thoughts, My Journey

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photo copy 3Week two of my “punishment”

Like I said in my last post, the Principal of my Christian school assigned a scripture a week as punishment for my crime of bringing weed to my Christian School. He would pray and seek God’s guidance on which verse to pick. Every one he chose for me had something to do with where I needed to change or grow. I had to study it, apply the truths to my life and share with my classmates that truth. It had to be 150 words minimum. In the beginning I counted every word, but after a while, the scriptures started to come alive on the inside of me! This so called punishment was changing my life, one day at a time.

The second week’s scripture was this one:

Ephesians 4:29 (NLV)  ”Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”

I had a pretty foul mouth back then, at 14. My heart was changing but the outside was a process-and still is, because we never stop growing. I was brand new in my spirit, but the soul, which is my mind, emotions, and my will had some growing to do. Who would have ever thought that my punishment was going to be something that would shape my future and get me into the bible? It was starting to feel like God’s love letter to me! My classmates were a little confused about what this was all about. What was a punishment for me was actually changing me.

When I presented this to my class I had to start lining up with what I was saying. I started to choose my words more carefully. I became more conscious that my words could really help people. Imagine if we had a gong or a buzzer, like the game shows on TV that sounds when you give the wrong answer? The Holy Spirit, who comes when we accept Jesus lives inside of a believer, is there for just that! To direct us in all we do and say. Something wonderful began to happen. I started looking forward to the next scripture because the exercise of studying them was like being given a powerful flash light to help me get out of the dark place I had gotten myself into. One week at a time, one day at a time.

God doesn’t want us to be robots. He created us all different and unique. The more we walk with Him and talk with him, the more light we have to do this thing called life.

Thanks for reading along, and for going with me on this journey back in time. It only gets better from here. To think that I was so close to being sent off to reform school, which is basically school in jail for troubled kids. But someone had mercy on me and gave me another chance.

Let’s not be so quick to write people off. You never know what a little grace can do in someone’s life.

I’ll share one more “punishment” tomorrow and wrap up the story.  If you ever wanted to quit smoking, or know someone who does, this story will be for you!

http//janalackey.com/2014/01/08/the-day-my-life-changed-part-2/

Day 9-my500words http://goinswriter.com/my500words/

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The Day My Life Changed, Part 2

08 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Growing Pains, Inspirational Thoughts, My Journey

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A few days were spent in utter suspense, awaiting the school board’s decision-to kick me out for good or not.  To my mother’s great relief, and mine, the vote of the school board was in my favor to give me ONE LAST CHANCE.

The sentence, punishment, was nothing short of brilliant. Mr. Grimes, Pioneer Principal of our school, called me in to his office to tell me what needed to happen if I was to stay at the Christian School where I was caught with Marijuana.

My assignment was as follows. Mr. Grimes, would assign a bible verse to me each week. On Wednesday of that week, 30 minutes before the lunch break, I was to present a written speech to my classmates on the scripture and how it applies to our lives.  It had to be at least 150 words and I had to read it during our class devotions. Now they would all see if this was for real or not!

I had such a radical conversion that all my friends who I hung out with and got in trouble with didn’t want me because of my newfound faith. The church kids, at first, didn’t want anything to do with me because I was such a troublemaker! I was the talk of the town and bets were probably out on the outcome of this wild child.

During this time in my life, I had a pretty bad self-image. My hair was long and I tried to cover as much of my face as I could with it. I wore heavy makeup and lots of jewelry. I guess you could say I was hiding behind it all. Don’t get me wrong. I thank God for makeup! Like our Pastor, John Osteen used to say, “if the barn needs paining, paint it!” But I was a 14-year-old girl and I needed more than paint to fix what was broken inside. Change doesn’t happen overnight. The miracle of Salvation is that the inside is brand new! But the outside can take a bit of time to catch up! I still smoked, had a bad habit of cursing and overall needed some work!

The words of the bible are transformational when ingested by the whole person: spirit, soul and body. My first assignment was on the subject of women:

1 Peter 3:3,4 (kjv)“ Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

Busted! How was I going to continue to look like I did and talk to my classmates about this scripture and how it applies to our lives? No one likes a hypocrite. I didn’t want to be one!

ImageSomething really cool about that verse is not that you can’t wear clothes and fix your hair and wear jewelry. It is saying to focus on the inside person. When I gave my life over to the Lord, to let him be in the driver’s seat of my life, it was like I was driving a dirty ‘ol dump truck full of dirt and baggage at the back, driving down the road of life. When I saw a man on the side of the road waving at me to stop. He asked if he could take over the wheel now. When I looked in his eyes, I knew I could trust him. I slid over to the passenger seat and the first thing he did was press a button and the back raised up and all the dirt slid out. He pushed another button and the whole truck became sparkling clean and new! He put in in gear and we started off. Along the way, I noticed things getting put in the back, these were gifts he had given me and people, and provision for the road ahead.

Even my personality started to be transformed. People didn’t even recognize me after a while. The scripture above says to have a “meek and quiet spirit”. It didn’t say I had to have a meek and quiet PERSONALITY! God didn’t ask me to be a robot. I get to be me!

I was in a whole new world. The passenger of the truck (me), has tried to take over the wheel at times and say, “hey, let’s go this way-my way.” The results were not always good on that one. I came to know and understand that if I follow the Lord close, my dreams, desires, gifts and all, will be discovered and developed along the way.Image

Little by little, every day, Jesus is changing me! The next 2 weeks of my assignment were crazy! You won’t believe it. I’ll tell you more tomorrow on day 9 of

 

 

http://goinswriter.com/my500words/ challenge.

Thanks for following my challenge-Today is Day 8

The Day My Life Changed

07 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Growing Pains, Inspirational Thoughts, My Journey

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Day 7/500 word challenge
Image‘’Some people never change”.  How many times have you heard someone say that? If you read my blog Kicked out of School then you already know that I was a mess at 14 years old.   It was March 3, 1976, the day I said, “God, if you are real, then come and change me from the inside out.” It was also the day I got busted for having weed at school. It was in that order. Gave my life to God, and got busted. I had pulled a lot of stunts up to that point. Authority figures in my life didn’t really trust me-to put it mildly. As far as they knew, it was all a stunt to get out of trouble. As I sat in the principal’s office, with the weed on his desk, guilty as charged, I said to him, “You can do what you need to do and I will understand. One thing I know, that God has forgiven me.”

Only a couple of people believed something real had taken place that day. By the time I got home the news had reached my mom. She was waiting for me when I walked in the kitchen excited to share the news. But it was not the good news she heard, but the bad news. Her daughter already kicked out of public school, now on the last chance at Christian School too! All she could say through her tears was, “GO TO YOUR ROOM!” My mom is a saint by the way. It would be a little while before she would see the change in me and be convinced it was not all just a ploy to get out of the trouble I was in.

No one had told her that I had made a life altering decision to let God take over the wheel in my life. Change takes time. Sometimes it is impossible. But the “G” factor is the exception! God, Father, Daddy, Creator, Mother, Maker, is all that and more. I didn’t change overnight on the outside, but the awesome thing is that the moment I prayed that prayer and asked for His help, the lights came on. I had peace and joy that was indescribable!

At the Church we Pastor in Africa, we tell people that if you sit under the Word of God long enough, He will begin to change us from the inside –out. No one is a worse “sinner” than the other! Not even close. We should all have a sign on our forehead that says “Under Construction”. Because we all are-under construction.

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The school board had their meeting about “Jana Baker” and they almost had a deadlock vote whether to keep me in the school or not.  There was only one option left for me. REFORM SCHOOL. Check back tomorrow for the rest of the story!

photos from google photo images

Pula! Praying For Rain In A Dry Land

06 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by in Inspirational Thoughts, Life in Africa

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Day 6, 500 words a day ChallengeImage

The President of the country, Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama sent out a mandate for the people of the Nation, Botswana, to pray for rain. In response to that call , the Paramount Chief of the Batawana Tribe, Kealitile Moremi (Pictured in Blue speaking in the photo above) in Botswana called all the pastors in the area to come and pray for rain at the *Kgotla (The Place of the Chief) in Maun, Botswana. Pula means rain. After the national anthem is sung at the Kgotla, the Chief shouts Pula! Then all the people follow in unison shouting in one voice, “PULA!”


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Last year it hardly rained. Cattle all over the North were dying from drought conditions; people were struggling with little or no water.  The situation was dire.

When a leader gathers the people to call on God for help, something very powerful happens.  It was shortly after that the windows of heaven opened and for weeks the rains have been coming! So much rain that yesterday, another call went out to the churches to come to the Kgotla for a time of Thanksgiving to God for the abundance of rain. The meeting was almost called off because of the rain! But something wonderful happened for that gathering. The clouds parted, for just enough time to give thanks. The Elders and leaders of the community were there, along with many pastors, and thanksgiving was indeed given to God for His abundant blessing. Songs, ululating, and speeches were shared. Immediately following the ceremony, the black clouds, full of rain, began again.

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“Pula” means rain, or blessing. Our currency in Botswana is thePula. No amount of money can replace water.  In a dry and desert land, when it rains, the desert blossoms and becomes a beautiful lush, green sight.  Water is life. Without water, life cannot exist.

Jesus is the living water. If we believe in him, fill our minds and hearts with this love letter to us, the words of the bible, then we will have the Living Water! Jesus said, “He who believes in me, as the scripture said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 (NKJV)

This living water is available to us today, all we have to do is open our hearts
Image and allow Him to fill us with His presence. Imagine, to have God, the creator of heaven and earth, fill us with himself. He takes over our hearts when we yield to him. Whatever you need today, God can do such a better job, working through us than we can do in our own ability. The fruit of having him in our lives is always love. It is always others. To touch people who come across our paths each day and extend that love to them.  I am so grateful to be living in a country where leaders honor God. Pula!

*Wikapedia “Kgotla”

A kgotla is a public meeting, community council or traditional law court, especially in villages of Botswana, usually referred to as a customary court. It is usually headed by the villagechief or headman, and community decisions are always arrived at by consensus. Anyone at all is allowed to speak, and no one may interrupt while someone is “having their say”. In fact there is a Setswana saying that the highest form of war is dialogue (ntwa kgolo ke ya molomo). Because of this tradition, Botswana claims to be one of the world’s oldest democracies.

There is a First Time for Everything!

12 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by in Inspirational Thoughts, Life in Africa

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ImageThis is a pretty exciting week for me. I have waited for years for this time to come! A very special young lady in our care who has had her share of hardships is experiencing many “firsts” as we travel together to South Africa to see if she is a candidate for a Cochlear Implant. She has been deaf since she was around 3 years old.

Starting today there are lots of firsts:  First plane, first elevator, first SA burger, first huge City, first view of so many lights and freeways like spagetti, first parking garage large Mall and our first trip together! This is truly awesome! She has been with us at LBOM for over 10 years now. We have seen her grow up from a child who lived in the hospital for 9 years before being released into foster care with us into a beautiful young lady filled with gifts! She may be hearing impaired, but man can she dance! She can feel the beat in her bones and dance with the best of them!

This week might produce the desired results with the doctors, but if it didn’t, this whole experience would have been worth it! I appreciate your cheering us on!

How about you? Can you share a dream you have for someone who is in your life? Maybe just a little bit of help is all someone needs to step into their destiny!