How to make your children feel comfortable around you.

Mothers in Prayer Group in our Brixton branch.

The Mothers in Prayer group is ready for a brand new month! We're excited about what August will bring to us, but also very grateful for everything we have learned in July.

July has been the month of cultivating our friendship with our children. We have been learning to get to know them better and to love them not only as parents, but as friends as well. 

Perfect love drives out fear

This is one of the most beautiful quotes that exist about friendship, and it should apply in your friendship with your children. You should make them believe that no matter what they show you or share with you about themselves, your love with surpass their shortcomings. Remember, perfect love casts out fear. You cannot allow your children to be afraid to speak up about things which they know you won't approve of. 

It's important to watch your reactions when they choose to open up about their weaknesses. No matter how shocked or upset you are, don't show it. Rather reward the courage they had to come and tell you the truth. This will encourage them to do the same next time.

See the bigger picture

We know this is easier said than done. So, how can you develop this self-control and make sure to react in the right way? By doing what we spoke about last week, getting to know them better by investing in common interests with them! 

This will enable you to see the bigger picture. You will get to know who they really are and learn to respect them as individuals, instead of just focusing on their mistakes. 

Join us on Sunday after the 10:00am meeting for another prayer and valuable direction.

The diary of the ex-sufferer - Giving myself a chance!

Beautiful Antonia Alencar on her wedding day.

Even though my previous boyfriend had left me to be with another man, I chose to leave the past behind and move on. As it happens with most, thoughts came for me to give up on love and believe all men were the same, but I chose to give myself a chance. 

I allowed my inner wound to heal and chose to believe that I would one day be happy in love. I believed in my value as a woman, therefore I didn't need a man to complete me. I just wanted to share my life with someone who fit in God's plan for my life. 

I didn't want to make 

the same mistake again

The first time I saw Victor, I knew he was the one. His dedication caught my attention. We started building a friendship and getting to know each other better. This time around, I took things slow! We started as friends and remained friends for two years. During that time, we had lots of conversations about each other. 

I wanted to make sure that I knew him well. :) I didn't want to make the same mistake of following my heart. I had to use my intelligent faith.  After many conversations and many prayers, we started dating. We dated for one and half years and then got married. Today we are very happy and living a dream. 

The happy couple beginning their life together.

Where did I find the strength to carry on?

If you asked, where did I find the strength to move forward and change my situation, I would say it came from my faith in God. I found strength in the teachings of the Bible, which I consider my manual for life. This is what it taught me...

"I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." 

(Philippians 3:13-14)

When you forget the past and press forward, everything becomes new in your life. And now, friend, it's your turn! Give yourself a chance to move forward and change your future for the better! 

AAY 006 - Single? Me?

Today in the studio we have two young women, who decided to kick the single life to the curb. What made them decide to settle down so young? How did they cope with the pressures of High School and University? Find out more about their story!

Put your problems in perspective.

One of these days I went past a butterfly on the wall and its size caught my attention, so I decided to take a picture of it. When I looked at the picture I had just taken, the butterfly looked so much bigger in the picture than it  actually was, so I decided to take another picture that put in perspective the size of that butterfly. Have a look at the difference of the two pictures!

How have you been looking at your problems?

This had me thinking... if our perception is limited, things could appear much bigger than they seem. Sometimes one needs a broader vision to put things in their true perspective. 

How have you been looking at the problems that you are going through? While your eyes are narrowed in on the problem, it will seem bigger than it is. In order to put it into perspective, you need to take a step back and broaden your vision. 

When you stop looking at your problem and start looking at God, your vision broadens, because you begin to understand that in comparison to Him, the size of your problem is insignificant, just as the butterfly's size is insignificant compared to the hand next to it.

Don't be overwhelmed by your problems. Allow God to step into the picture, so you may see the size of your problem shrinking before your eyes!

God bless!

By Fernanda Schlenker.

What do women want in a man?

Women's Meeting at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

In this week's meeting we asked ourselves what it is we women want in a man. We watched a clip of the Love Therapy meeting, which took place on Thursday the 16th of July, at Temple of Solomon, in Brazil, in which author and columnist Ester Bezerra, who is married for 43 years to the leader of the UCKG HelpCentre, Bishop Edir Macedo, affirmed that women want security in a man.

Author and Columnist Ester Bezerra

Security and protection

She explained that as a little girl, the woman feels secure at home. Her father provides all she needs and offers her protection. When she gets married, the man removes her from this stability and vows to live with her for the rest of her life. Therefore, she will seek from him the same security and protection which she had at home. A woman's insecurities begin when she doesn't find this protector in her husband. She wants to feel like she is the most loved woman on earth, the only woman in his life.

Finding this protective partner can prove to be a challenge for many women, and we advise that you observe the man you allow into your life very well, before you commit to him. However, when you find an honest and reliable partner, without a doubt, you should hold on to him, and we would like to introduce you to One.

He meets your needs

When a dying thief who had previously betrayed Him asked Him for salvation, Jesus answered him, "I assure you, today you will be with me in Paradise." All it took was a sincere request for help and immediately the help he needed was provided. 

The help came with no complications. It was immediate! And, that's how things are with Him. He is always ready to meet our every need. What help do you need right now? Don't complicate what is simple. Let Him meet your needs.

Call our Helpline on 020 7686-6000 for further information.

How can I know my kids better?

Every Sunday after our 10am meeting, we gather with mothers to pray for our children and to share basic advise of how we can improve our relationship with them. Every Monday we'll be sharing with you what we speak about at these special gatherings.

Older children become more reserved

When our children are small, they tell us everything. They arrive home from school and begin filling our ears with interesting details of their day - what they got up to with their friends, what the teacher said, which game they played, etc. But, as they grow older, this all starts changing. They become more reserved and keep what they do during the day to themselves. Well, how can we as parents become friends with them and get get to know them better?

Discover their interests

Good friends spend time together and share common interests. It will be no different with our children. Find out about their interests - things they like and enjoy - and do those together with them. You may find it less engaging than the things you enjoy, but remember, to conquer them, you need to go down to their level. Remember, it's not about imposing your interests on them, but about discovering theirs. 

Join us this coming Sunday for another informative Mothers in Prayer gathering. Don't miss!

The diary of an ex-sufferer - Falling in love.

Today we're continuing with the diary of Antonia Alencar, an ex-sufferer whose life got transformed. If you've missed the beginning of her story, follow it here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

After my hard childhood, falling in love was a really exciting time in my life. I could finally start sharing my life and struggles with someone. I met a guy who seemed really nice and we dated for two years. But, my fairytale didn't last long. We soon began having a lot of arguments and misunderstandings. The romantic in me wanted to believe in a good ending, so I stayed in that bad relationship. He preferred spending time with his friends instead of me.

I shed a lot of tears

My friends told me to end it, because I deserved better, but I didn't want to lose one more thing in my life. I believed he would change. I shed a lot of tears in secret, not understanding why he was so cold towards me. One day I came home from university and found an email from him in my inbox. He wrote, "I can't continue dating you any more, I'm ending this relationship." 

I became livid. How could he break up with me by email? I wrote him, telling him to be man enough to break up with me in person. A week later I found out that he was dating another guy. Yes, that's right, he was dating another man! The friends he preferred spending time with were who he liked. 

Antonia Alencar picked herself up after a terrible breakup.

My self-esteem took a dive. I was very disappointed by his actions. Negative thoughts bombarded my head. But, as time went by, I slowly got over that pain. I learned to be more observant when it came to choosing someone. 

Hope for the future

Although I was greatly disappointed, I believed in a brighter future. I knew that my life wasn't over. Life goes on, and so I focused on valuing and loving myself instead. I knew that my story would have a happy ending one day, so I chose to move on.

Next week you'll read how my story ends in the final part of my diary - Part 7 - I gave myself a chance.