Pam Boyd's Blog

Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Considering all that I have been through lately with my husband, Turbo Brady, having open-heart surgery, the heart has been on my mind a lot. I now know more heart-related medical terms than ever before. However, what I want to share is a very simple, yet hard to follow discipline…diligence.

It takes diligence to keep our heart in good shape, physically and spiritually. I know I’m speaking to the choir with this simplistic statement, but how many of us are actually doing the diligent part? Diligence means a constant and earnest effort; persistent exertion of body or mind. It takes a constant, every day effort to keep our earthly bodies healthy and energized. The same is true for our spiritual heart.

We are the overseer of our heart, no one else’s, just our own. We are responsible to watch, direct, guide, correct, and give oversight to what goes on inside us. We alone are responsible for what we allow to develop inside our head and heart. We are personally responsible for both the good and the bad that occurs within our thought life. It is that ‘inside part’ – the part we control – that God will hold us responsible for.

Consider this simple analogy: There is only one reason that weeds grow out of control in a garden…because no one took the proper time and care to uproot and remove them. When the garden is choked with weeds, the gardener can’t complain. If he’d been exercising the proper amount of diligence, he would have known that weeds were about to take over. His lack of diligence is the reason his garden got into a huge mess!

The only way we can stay free of the weeds the devil wants to sow into our ‘garden’ is to be attentive, careful, thorough, and meticulous about the condition of our own heart. Don’t expect others to take care of your heart for you either. It’s your heart! Be diligent to keep it in good shape.

(Excerpts taken from Sparkling Gems)

How many times have you wanted to do something, plan something, or dare to dream something, but you were too afraid? You know you’re missing out on life and opportunities, but you’re too scared to do anything about it.

Those of us who live with anxiety are living below the mark of what we were created to be. Worry was never a part of God’s plan for you, yet clinics are full every day with worrisome people trying to find an answer to conquer this flesh-eating stronghold.

My big fear was always public speaking. Whether small or large groups, I could never imagine myself doing that. I remember in college having to write a speech and read it in front of the class. Yikes!! I was horrified, to say the least. I remember speaking as fast as I could to get it over with so that I could finally sit down and take a deep breath. That was one of the worst feelings in the world. All of the anxiety and fear had taken over my body trying to find some relief.

Fast forward to my life now as a pastor’s wife of a really, big church. Good grief! I started questioning what did I say ‘yes’ to. “Lord, I don’t think I signed up for this.” To which the Lord has confirmed to me over and over and over that “Yes, indeed, I signed you up for this. I called you for such a time as this, remember? Don’t worry for I have equipped you and I am here with you.” It was only after I surrendered all of my fear about public speaking that I was able to stand up for the first time in front of 1000 ladies and share my testimony in our church. That’s not to say that I wasn’t nervous. I went to the bathroom 3 times before walking up on stage! I’m human, so of course, I would be nervous speaking for the first time.

I have since been asked to share my heart at various others events and with every one, I am more comfortable and confident in the One who speaks through me. I simply let go of my insecurities…and let God use me as His vessel.

We can all conquer our fears by exercising our faith. Look up some Bible verses and commit them to memory. When doubt and fear enter your mind, speak those verses out loud and proclaim your faith. Here are a few verses to start with:

Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation…whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life…of whom shall I be afraid.”

Psalm 56:11 “In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and discipline.”

Most of us have pretended at some point in our lives to be someone or something that we are not. As children we most likely pretended to be someone great like a superhero or an astronaut or a schoolteacher or a doctor. I remember watching the Miss America pageant growing up and afterwards, I would find something that resembled a crown and walk through the house smiling and waving pretending that I was the new Miss America. I also remember getting a notebook that I made into a grade book for my pretend students in my class. I’d pretend to teach math and English (my favorite subjects) and then I’d grade pretend papers from the students. I thought I was the best teacher in the world. As much as I enjoyed pretending during my childhood, I am thankful it was not my reality. I had the opportunity after Brady and I got married to actually substitute teach in the elementary school where I worked in the office. I can honestly say that I am so glad that I did not pursue the career of a teacher. They truly have one of the hardest jobs and I am thankful for those that have that calling.

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, the innocence of pretending is lost. Somehow, it turns into a destructive way to hide the parts of us that we are ashamed of; therefore, we pose as someone greater than ourselves. God warns us against pretending to be something we are not-especially when we pretend to be spiritually great. True authenticity comes from finding your real value in God’s eyes and being honest with yourself and others. It is better to be honest about your failures than to lie about your successes.

Why do we pretend to be something or someone we are not?

1. Pride – we all want to look honorable and important in the eyes of others.

2. Embarrassment – when we are embarrassed to admit what we did, we may be tempted to deceive others into thinking that what we did was right.

3. Flattery – we may use flattery to pretend we like someone in order to get something from them.

4. Selfishness – we may disguise our true motives in order to get what we want.

If we continue to go down this path, we eventually fool ourselves into thinking our motives are sincere, and worse yet, we think that God does, too.

Proverbs 20:23 “The Lord detests double standards; He is not pleased by dishonest scales.” God is opposed to hypocrisy! Hypocrisy shows the heart of dishonesty. “1 Peter 2:1 “Get rid of all…deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.” Much of pretending grows out of deceit, which is incredibly harmful to your spiritual growth.

After awhile, a habit of deceitful pretending becomes common and even acceptable to you, dulling and even killing your conscience. Eventually deceivers deceive themselves, cutting them off from truth.

Take off the mask and stop pretending! Psalm 119:29 “Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.” We must be diligent in studying His word. It illuminates deceit and teaches us how to live honestly and transparently. Psalm 120:2 “Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people.” Watch the friends you keep. Deceitful friends will lead you deeper into deceit. After having personally walked through a few deceitful relationships, I am very cautious of who I let in to share life. That’s why I am not a person who needs a ton of close friends. Give me two close friends and I’m content. Romans 12:3 “Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” A good start to conquer pride is to ask honest friends to give you a realistic account of your life and actions. Be ready to receive criticism without making excuses or becoming defensive. Be ready to make the change to becoming the real you!

(Excerpts taken from Life’s Questions by Beers and Beers.)

We are born into this world thinking the whole world revolves around us and all the other people are just paying rent to live in our world. Many of us have parents that told us we were the best, the cutest, the smartest, and the greatest at anything we did. Why would we want to believe anything else! In fact, we, ourselves as parents, have told the exact same things to our beloved children. From the moment they become a part of our family until forever, we want our children to think the best of themselves. If taught correctly and in healthy exhortation, with the grace of God, our children will attain a healthy confidence.

I believe we, as parents, are to be their role models. If we live our lives before them not as cocky , selfish, pompous elitists , but as broken and humble servants looking for opportunities to help others; then, most likely, they will do the same as they grow into their confidence through the years. It must start in the home though. Afterall, God gave us these precious children to love, nourish, and disciple. Let’s encourage them to embrace who God created them to be.

Healthy confidence is a realization and an assurance that God loves us, that He has given us talents and gifts, that He wants us to use those gifts for Him, and that He has given us salvation and eternal life in heaven. This gives us complete certainty that our life can have meaning, now and forever.

Unhealthy pride results when arrogance and cockiness are substituted for healthy confidence. Thinking we can make it without God and failing to seek His help are the warning signs that confidence has turned into pride. Self-promotion will get us nowhere but into a deep, dark hole of depression with no friends to enjoy the success we made for ourselves. If we promote ourselves, then we are the ones responsible for the outcome. I can probably bet that that would not be a life we would want to live with all the stress and burden of having to live up to that. If we let God promote us, then He is the one responsible for the outcome. He’s got my vote! Just think how peaceful we all would be if we just let go and let God.

“Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.” Ecclesiastes 7:12 NLT

I love to watch the Summer Olympics. My favorite part is watching the track and field events, mostly track, no field. When I was in junior high, I was on the track team. I ran the 100m sprint, 200m sprint and the mile relay. My coach said that I looked like a prancing horse when I ran. After all, I was one of the tallest girls in my class and I was finally proud of my long legs. I took it as a compliment and ran my best in every race. My team did very well those few years that I ran and even though I never won any individual awards, I was honored to be a part of a successful track team. My zeal for running waned tremendously as I grew older. I never got it back and to this day, I can honestly admit that I hate to run but I must jog to keep my heart healthy, so I do…sometimes.

I remember that before a track event our coach always told us to drink plenty of water so that we’d stay hydrated and eat carbohydrates for energy. If we didn’t, we’d get dizzy, have leg cramps and basically would be no good for the race. You see, you must ‘prepare’ in order to run a race well. I wonder in our own individual spiritual race how many times we approach the starting line unprepared?

Proverbs 3:21-23 declares “My son, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, and ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble.”

Sound judgement and discernment are medals that are ours when we walk in wisdom! I find that extremely exciting! Wisdom is the footwear that each of us needs to wear in order to run the race God has for us. The road may not always be flat and the route may not be easy. In fact, you can bet it won’t. God warned us that we would face trials, adversity, and attacks; therefore, we must choose our reactions wisely and be prepared. We must keep running when tough times come. So, how do we do this?

First, we ready our hearts by hydrating ourselves every day with the Living Water of God’s Word. Next, we feast on our Daily Bread through worship, and last, we rest in the shelter of the Most High by investing time in our relationship with Him. This is the fuel we need to replenish us with faith, hope and encouragement. God has given us everything we need to run the race. It’s up to us to prepare so that we gain victory in the tough times and finish strong!

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

I admit it! I love watching those legal shows. You know, the ones about people getting justice. I’m a justice-kind-of-girl. I get it honestly, though. My father was a police officer for 23 years, so I grew up always wanting for him to get the bad guys and put them away. My mom has been a legal secretary for many, many years and she’s always been fascinated with the legal system and how it works. She had high aspirations to become a lawyer, but never pursued it. In fact, I have entertained the thought, as well. I love discovering facts and helping prove a person’s innocence, but I wouldn’t do so well in the lying department or helping a guilty client.

Although, I have a high regard for justice in our legal system; the ones that I am most concerned about in receiving their justice are the children who have fallen victim to trafficking. Some of their parents have sold them into the industry for money or they have been kidnapped. My passion is to spread awareness and raise funds to help stop this most tragic crime. These precious children have had their childhoods stolen from them. Can you imagine not experiencing all the fun and exciting things you did as a child? Some of the joys that I experienced as a child like taking a trip to the zoo, going to see a movie, playing hopscotch, jumping rope, making mud pies, building houses out of pine straw, making animals with play doh, my first happy meal from McDonalds, and celebrating my birthday have been stolen from these precious children. They are kept in a tiny little room in a run-down building. They share this room with many other children who are required to service as many as 20 clients a day.

The statistics are horrendous and unfathomable. Child trafficking is a $32 billion industry! The majority of suspects involved in the trafficking process are nationals of the country where the trafficking process is occurring. 52% of those recruiters are men, 42% are women and 6% are both men and women. In 54% of cases the recruiter was a stranger to the victim and in 46% of cases the recruiter was known to the victim (from the International Organ. for Migration). According to UNICEF, as many as 2.5 million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade. 300,000 children in our very own country are at risk every year for commercial sex trade according to the US Dept of Justice. That’s right. This unspeakable crime is happening right under our noses, in our own backyard. The Denver and Dallas airports are two of the major hubs for transporting trafficked children. It’s time for us to become proactive and do whatever we can to stop this.

When I first heard that this was going on internationally and also in the US, it was overwhelming. It shook me up. It wrecked my heart. I cried a lot. I began to pray and ask the Lord how I could get involved. I searched the web for a trusted organization that wanted to stop this horrific crime. I came across Stop Child Trafficking Now founded by Ron and Lynette Lewis. I read all of their information on their site and then asked our Missions Pastor what he thought of them and then I looked at their website and their board members and found that one of my husband’s new friends was on the board! Our Missions Pastor agreed that they were legit.

I was so excited to get involved! This organization raises awareness and funds to send special operative teams into the places where this unthinkable crime is happening so they can arrest the predators. Stop Child Trafficking Now “believes strongly that to eliminate this crime the demand for children must end. That’s why SCTNow seeks to destroy the source. SCTNow believes that by putting predators behind bars, we can Stop Child Trafficking Now.”

When we, as concerned citizens, simply decide to do something it ignites the power of one life. You can make a difference as one. I made a choice to partner with SCTNow to be a voice for the ones that have had theirs stolen. This is what excites me!! No longer can we sit and cry and hope that something will change. We cannot just dismiss it and think that someone else will deal with it or that it’s just too overwhelming. Where’s the justice in that? Where’s the compassion? Those children still have hope that someone will rescue them. How can we take away their last bit of hope?

You can do something. Think about all of your friends and everyone that you come in contact with every day. If you would just tell one person and that person told one person and so on, think of the damage we could do to destroy this billion-dollar industry. Just about everyone wears a silicone bracelet to show support for a particular cause. I went online and bought 20 white bracelets with Be a Voice…Stop Child Trafficking embossed on them to hand out to people who want one and also, to give as an extra little trinket in a birthday gift. That’s just another way to spread awareness. You’d be surprised how many people do not know anything about child trafficking.

Also, to help raise funds, SCTNow is sponsoring a community walk around the country Oct 2-3^rd. Please visit www.sctnow.com and check out where the closest city walk is located near you. Last year over 8,000 people participated in the very first annual walk and raised over $600,000 to end child slavery. That’s pretty remarkable, isn’t it? Just think…YOU can be a part of that this year! The power of one life is truly amazing when you realize that you really do have the power to do something extraordinary with it.

Together, one by one, we can have Justice For All.

Ephesians 1:16 “I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.”

So how long has it been since you gave thanks for the loved ones God has placed in your life? To take it further, how long has it been since you spoke those words to your loved ones? Well, Valentine’s Day is around the corner and we all know that ‘love’ is celebrated on that day whether it’s for your spouse, your family, your friends, or that special someone in your life.

The number of Valentine’s Day cards exchanged annually is approximately 200 million, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (Christmas has 1.9 billion) (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.) (Source: Hallmark research)

Wow!! Compared to Christmas that’s not a lot of cards with heartfelt love going out. I wonder why that is. Now I know that some of it could be because you can send a FREE card via the internet now, but how many of you appreciate a card that you get in the mailbox more than an e-card? For me, I’d have to say a card that I receive in the mail means that the person who sent it really took the time to pick it out just for me. They chose to go to a store and read hundreds of cards before they found just the right one. (OK, maybe not hundreds.) But you see, time is valuable and so when someone chooses to use that time for me, it’s always precious to me. I have a dear friend who does just that. Actually, I have many dear friends who do that, but this friend continues to do it even though we’re many miles apart now and not only does she send me a card on special occasions, but she also sends cards to my children on their birthday. She has taken love and thoughtfulness to a whole new level. I wish that I could say I do this for all of my loved ones today. Truth is, I used to many years ago, but life got so busy that I stopped and I started sending the e-cards (at least I remembered to do that). ☺ I guess you could say that the Lord gently reminded me through my dear friend to ‘stop and smell the roses’ and to take time for the ones that I love and that are special to me. My friend doesn’t know how much her actions have encouraged me. (I think I’ll send her a card to tell her just how much.) ☺ Thank you, Peach!

Won’t you join me in taking time to thank God more often for your loved ones and better yet, take time to thank them more often whether by snail mail, email, a phone call or a visit? Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be the only day that we celebrate our love for our loved ones. ☺ Let’s celebrate love all year long!

p.s. In case you’re wondering, I’m getting a delicious meal at Pappadeaux’s with my 3 valentines this year. ☺

After reading some of my son’s emails that he has sent to a few recipients i.e. my parents and a couple of children’s websites, I noticed that he writes just like he thinks…straight and to the point. There is no gray area with Abram, it’s either black or white. You definitely do NOT have to wonder what he’s thinking; although, sometimes I DO wonder where he comes up with some of his thoughts. The Lord reminded me that this special little guy loves to live out loud. We all should take note and love to live out loud!

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song about it. One line of his lyrics is “This is the life we’ve been given, made to live out, so…live out loud.” Wow! What a great quote! The Oxygen channel even uses Live Out Loud as their slogan. I believe that most of the shows on the Oxygen channel are reality shows and they go to the extreme of ‘living out loud’. This makes me wonder if we, as Christians, truly live out loud in reality. If we had a reality show, what would it look like? Would it be staged like all of them are on TV already or could you be truly yourself with cameras coming at you from every angle?

Here’s another thought, if we lived out loud serving the King of Kings would we be content and satisfied with our life? Ralph Waldo Emerson has an interesting quote about that. He states, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

Paul instructs us how to produce the satisfied sense of well-being that should encompass a Christian’s life in Ephesians 5:15-17 “Therefore be careful how you walk; not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” When we feel good about life, about who we are in Christ, what we are doing for the Kingdom, and where we are headed, honorability and compassion become a big part of our character. We desire to make a difference. There is an overwhelming sense of joy that cannot compare to short-term happiness.

An unthinkable, most horrific crime that is rampant in the US and abroad wrecked my heart in Jan of 2008. I couldn’t believe what my friend, Lisa Bevere, was telling me about the child trafficking that she witnessed in Thailand a couple of years ago. Child trafficking? It was even more horrible than what I thought it was! And, it was going on right here in the U.S., in our own backyard! After feeling sick in my stomach and crying my eyes out over these precious children, I began to pray and ask the Lord how I could get involved to help stop this billion dollar crime. Lisa has an organization that she founded called Pearl Alliance that helps to raise funds and awareness to rescue these precious children of God. Lisa has become a dear, trusted friend over the past 2 years. She is full of wisdom and courage and great tenacity to see this industry come to an end. In a recent address to America on Anti-Trafficking Lisa states, “More than stocks & bonds, the children of this nation are our greatest wealth! Their present and future safety…our only hope of lasting legacy. The oppression and injustice we tolerate for others will over take us all if we remain silent. I am passionate because I’ve not only heard…I’ve seen, so I speak my passion. In the name of all that makes us humans created in the image of God, how can any of us remain silent when the voices of so many children have been silenced?”

Her passion and courage is contagious! Please visit her website PearlAlliance.org to see how you can get involved.