How do we avoid so many senseless massacres these days?

Sorry that it's been so long since I posted, but if you don't get notifications from my FB page, come "Like" it (https://www.facebook.com/MsV.Poller)

Singer Christina Grimmie gunned down

Recently there have been more senseless killing in the United States, and very close in location to this writer.  Singer Christina Grimmie, former contestant on “The Voice”, was gunned down as she appeared in a concert in Orlando, Florida.  On Sunday, June 12, 2016, a lone gunman killed and wounded over 100 persons.  And don’t forget the church shootings that happened back in South Carolina, in 2015.  MSNBC has recently reported that one person dies from gun violence every 17 minutes.
In the first two incidences above, there is no chance of the killer being prosecuted; they will both killed.  Some people are blaming a particular ethnic group, others say that we need to ban guns altogether, yet what is the real common denominator?  Who’s to blame for the murders in Florida?  The death and destructions within the past few days and in the past history could only stem from nothing but “evilness”.

We the people of the United States, have lost our moral standards.  We have taken God out of everything.  We use to have prayer in public schools. We held the ten commandments in high esteem.  We taught our children about respect for authority, as we were once taught; now we have to instruct them to be cautious.  People use to esteem teachers, policemen, government officials, parents and older/wiser individuals as people to look up to.  As times changed - people have changed and not always for the better.  Not all persons listed above are good role models.

Years ago, people looked towards a higher power, a higher authority; they depended upon God to help them in times of trouble.  We need to get back to days of old.  If people would humble themselves, pray and seek God, then He promised that things would change.  In the meantime, we have to be wise, prepared (and that includes protecting ourselves) and live a life with God at the center.

We need to stop pointing fingers and lumping everyone in the same mold.  How can we walk down the street, see someone who we don’t know, and profile that individual to be just like another person?  If we condemn a group of people with our mouths, then that is the way we really feel about them in our heart.  Let’s allow our words to be uplifting instead of destroying groups of people.

One more thing to consider in safety, if you live here, or are visiting the Florida area, please keep a watchful eye on your children when around lakes or lagoons.  It is mating season and alligators are prominent and very dangerous.  Remember, this is their habitat.

To read more like this – Get the Book: “Where Did That Come From?” by Ms. "V" (Victoria Thomas Poller)

If you like Ms. “V”s Blog, come read her weekly columns on The Examiner.com: Christian Living and Events pages.

NEW!  Top 5 Google Areas to Ms. "V"s Website for Mar. 17 – June 14, 2016 are:

   • Orlando, Florida

   • New York, New York

   • Jacksonville, Florida

   • Prosper, Texas

   • State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

What are the ‘Stations of the Cross’ all about?

Have you ever heard people talking about going to church and reciting or praying the “Stations of the Cross”?  Have you wondered what they were doing or if the Stations are religious and of God?  According to Wikipedia, “The object of the stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in most Roman Catholic as well as in a number of Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist churches.”

To see the photos of the statues from Groom Texas, go to the Examiner page to see and read the facts.

To read more – Get the Book: “Where Did That Come From?” by Ms. "V" (Victoria Thomas Poller)

If you like Ms. “V”s Blog, come read her weekly columns on The Examiner.com: Christian Living and Events pages.

NEW!  Top 5 Google Areas to Ms. "V"s Website for Feb. 23 – Mar. 17, 2016 are:

   • Jacksonville, Florida

   • Montgomery, Alabama

   • Lakeside, Florida

   • Atlanta, Georgia

   • State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Take Good Care of Yourself

God, Me, Family & Work

Time is a commodity that once it’s spent, you can never get that time back again.  Time is something that one should spend wisely.  Take time to be with your family and enjoy that time.  Steal-away continuously to be alone with God.

As in the diagram God should be primary.  He should be the first person you seek in the day and the last person that you think of and talk with at night.  Go to bed, wake up and “Praise the Lord.”  God is our father and as His children, He wants us to love Him and want to be with Him.  When we put God first, everything else will fall into place.

YOU should be next (take care of yourself).  If you don’t take care of yourself, how in the world are you going to care for another person, place or thing?  If you are a 'caretaker' then take some time to get YOUR annual physical, eat healthy, exercise and be the best You that You can be.  Pamper yourself a little, smile and be happy.

Next is your family.  Take them to church, don’t just drop them off.  Have dinner with them & leave the electronic devices in another room.  Attend their games, but don’t try to involve them in everything that you might have missed in your childhood.  Extracurricular activities should not control your time especially time away with your spouse.  Do all things in moderation.

Now for the thing that most of us need to do in order to have funds for the other three entities, and that is ‘work’.  We have to work in order to pay our tithes, give to others, put food on our table, pay for a roof over our heard, get a manicure, clothe our bodies and enjoy time out.  Sure, God supplies our needs, yet we have to do our part to live, nevertheless, we shouldn’t allow our jobs to overcome our families, ourselves or God.  It’s time to set our priorities in order and live our lives the way God intended.

Believe and Receive

You may ask, “If God is able, then why doesn’t He…?”

“Why doesn’t He heal me?”

“Why doesn’t He use me for His service?”

“Why doesn’t He prove this or that to me?”

Well, first of all, God is sovereign (having supreme rank, power, or authority).  He doesn’t have to prove anything.  Sometimes He does, but that’s up to Him.  He is Elohim (the Creator).  He is El Shaddai (the all-sufficient one).  He is God.

Secondly, the reason why God may not show Himself to you is because of your unbelief in this or that situation.  Or it may be because of a lack of faith.  Yes, I too sometimes have to build up my faith level in a particular area.  I’m striving to achieve the level that Brother Smith Wigglesworth had.  Through the power and anointing of God, he once resurrected a woman from the dead.  He slammed her against a wall and spoke life back into her body.  (Was that the first method of CPR—the Holy Ghost way?)

Yes, our faith has to be built up, and we do this by praying to our Father and asking for an extra dose of the Gift of Faith.  Then, while awaiting the manifestation of the gift of faith, we must believe that we have received it.  In other words:  trust, believe, and receive.

To read more – Get the Book: “Where Did That Come From?” by Ms. "V" (Victoria Thomas Poller)

If you like Ms. “V”s Blog, come read her weekly columns on The Examiner.com: Christian Living and Events pages.

NEW!  Top 5 Google Areas to Ms. "V"s Website for Jan. 17 – Feb. 23, 2016 are:

   • New York, New York

   • Hampton, Virginia

   • San Francisco, California

   • Montgomery, Alabama

   • Lakeside, Florida

2016 – “A Year of Transformation”

God is a God of change and 2016 is the year that things will change for you – if you allow them.  Through the leadership of Bishop George Davis, Impact Church Jacksonville, FL, the congregation started a 30 day Challenge dedicated to The Entire Man.  The areas of operation that we are working on are: SPIRITUAL, FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL & FAMILY.

Take a look at the graphics and start your 30 day challenge NOW!  It’s never too late to metamorphosis.  If you cannot read the graphics, email me and I will send you the documents.  Happy New Year!

 

Sore Tootsies

One Wednesday evening, my pastor had given a thought-provoking message.  I pulled him aside after service to let him know that I was “going home to soak my feet because the Word of God just tap-danced all across my toes.”  That’s what happens when you’re in tune with the spirit of God.  Conviction or recognition occurs when you hear a message that God directs especially towards you.  When you realize that God is speaking directly to you, just listen, hear, and obey.

To read more – Get the Book: “Where Did That Come From?” by Ms. "V" (Victoria Thomas Poller)

If you like Ms. “V”s Blog, come read her weekly columns on The Examiner.com: Christian Living and Events pages.

NEW!  Top 5 Google Areas to Ms. "V"s Website for Dec. 28 – Jan. 17, 2016 are:

   • Hartwell, Georgia

   • Atlanta, Georgia

   • Arvada, Colorado

   • Moscow Oblast, Russia

   • Fort Lauderdale, Florida  

Getting ready for a Happy New Year

As we begin to enter into another year, let us remember that things that didn’t work out for you in the past may be coming to fruition very soon.  Our timing is not the same as God’s timing.  #TBR

“Small Beginnings” (September 23, 1996)

In 1996, I began to go through a situation similar to Job’s.  No, I did not lose my children, or my home, or my health, but, when you are confronted with misfortune; it can seem as enormous as any problem that Job faced.  Just as Job’s trials, my misfortune seemed enormous and unending.

My husband and I opened a small, retail store selling ethnic cosmetics, cards, hosiery, figurines and a number of other items.  There was no other place in town that sold these particular types of items.  We drew up a dynamic business proposal and submitted it to the Small Business Association, after which we received a considerable loan to start the business.  We found a place downtown (the location wasn’t great, but we could not afford anything better (location is everything).  We remodeled the place, which we didn’t own but rented (mistake!).  We bought fixtures with a business credit card, and we purchased products to sell.  We had done a survey to find out if there was a demand for our products in our area, but you know how often people say one thing and then do another?  Our survey showed a good demand for our idea and our products.  We thought we had a sure thing.  We had prayed, trusted God, and basically, we had done our homework.  Some people say to give a business at least five years to become a success.  I say examine the facts.  Why endure a lot of hardship and expense?  When the cards are dealt after the shuffle, and, after you have drawn more cards, and you can’t make a good hand, then fold and fold gracefully…

To read more – get the book: “Bent But Not Broken” by Ms. "V" (Victoria Thomas Poller)

If you like Ms. “V”s Blog, come read her weekly columns on The Examiner.com: Christian Living and Events pages.

NEW!  Top 5 Google Areas to Ms. "V"s Website for Dec. 15 – Dec. 28, 2015 are:

   • Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia

   • Hartwell, Georgia

   • Albertville, Alabama

   • New York, New York

   • Scranton, Pennsylvania

Ms. “V” WELCOMES ALL the new countries to her site.

***To be notified of biweekly highlights, click the “Join This Site” button above***

Card or no card - it’s still Christmas

 This isn’t a new subject, but traditions have changed in our household after time.  Usually I try to Christmas cards ready to send out on Thanksgiving Day.  As the years have pass, fewer people reciprocate and send cards to our home.  Could it be the cost of stamps?  Could it be that people are too busy?  Could it be that people really don’t want to communicate?  Whatever the reason, remember that Jesus always was and always will be the reason for this Holiday Season.

Things have changed over the years and I get more joy by putting together an album of the Christmas photos that people from our past send to us.  Of course, there doesn’t have to be a picture enclosed in Christmas cards, but it’s so nice to see how other families grow.  Come to think about it, I use to add a Christmas letter in my cards, but that ceased years ago.

Whatever you decide to do, keep praying for your friends (past, present and future); as you remember that Jesus is the true reason for this holy holiday season.  Merry Christmas to you and your family and God Bless Us Everyone!

Christmas card – why?

Why send Christmas cards?

To read more – get the book: “Bent But Not Broken” by Ms. "V" (Victoria Thomas Poller)

If you like Ms. “V”s Blog, come read her weekly columns on The Examiner.com: Christian Living and Events pages.

NEW!  Top 5 Google Areas to Ms. "V"s Website for Nov. 30 – Dec. 15, 2015 are:

   • Moscow, Russia

   • Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia

   • Jacksonville Beach, Florida

   • Yulee, Florida

   • Arcata, California

Ms. “V” WELCOMES ALL the new countries to her site.

***To be notified of biweekly highlights, click the “Join This Site” button above***