Archive for the ‘Family’ Category
One Of The Most Wonderful Gifts A Man Can Give His Children!
One Of The Most Wonderful Gifts A Man Can Give His Children!
It’s not money.
It’s not expensive gifts either.
It’s not giving them all the latest toys and gadgets.
It’s not even giving them a large allowance.
I am not talking about giving your children something that only rich dads can afford. I’m talking about giving your children a gift that every father can give to his children, if only he would.
- The most wonderful gift a man can give his children?
- The answer is simple!
- It’s hanging right there in front of you like the nose on your face!
- You want to know?
- You really want to know?
Love Their Mother!
That’s It! Love Their Mother!
Let your children hear you say something like, “I love you Baby,” to their mom. Then watch them smile approvingly. Let them see you kiss her and hug her. Let them see you brag on her. Kids aren’t dumb. They can tell if you really love their mom.
Let your sons see you be tender with their Mama, and they’ll grow up being tender to their wives too. Let your daughters see how a woman is to be cherished and loved. There not much more you can do to bring peace and comfort to your children, than for them to know they grew up in a love-filled home.
Your house may have cost 100’s of thousands of dollars. But if love was not shown or felt, then all you really have is an expensive daycare center for your children.
Both of my parents have now gone on to be with the Lord. But my father left me many wonderful memories and examples of him openly expressing his love to my mom.
In my mind I can still hear him singing love songs to her that seemed to blurt out of nowhere. Songs like:
- Let Me Call You Sweetheart.
- Sugar In The Morning, Sugar In The Evening, Sugar At Supper Time.
You get the idea. Mom would always smile and walk into his open arms. All of us children would smile and nervously laugh our approval. Sometimes we turned our heads. Sometimes we watched.
Many times I’ve walked into the living room, kitchen or dining room and seen them in a tender embrace. Sure I walked back out, but I saw it! I saw that my dad truly loved my mom. For a little kid or even a big kid, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Do you forget things like that? Absolutely not! You remember it so well, that you do the same things when you get married. Then, you let your children see you be loving and tender to their mother.
If you will do that, you have just increased the odds that your children will grow up knowing the secret of a happy home life. And your grandchildren will grow up in a loving home as well. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
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(Now sir, go tell you wife right now how much you love her, and let your children hear you say it! Wrap your arms around her and give her a big smooch! That’s your homework for tonight. Class dismissed.)
The Unwanted Girls
The Unwanted Girls
The news story told of 285 young Indian girls that had chosen new names.
“Nakusa” or “Nakushi” (two variations of the Hindu word meaning “unwanted”) were among the names abandoned in an effort to promote their self-worth.
“Now in school, my classmates and friends will be calling me this new name, and that makes me very happy,” a 15-year-old girl told the AP after the ceremony. The teenager was formerly named Nakusa by her disappointed grandfather, but chose to be called “Ashmita,” which translates to “very tough” in Hindi.”
Girls hold certificates stating their new official names during a renaming ceremony in Satara, India, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. Almost 300 Indian girls known officially as "Unwanted" have traded their birth names for a fresh start in life
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Reading this story made me very sad. Their culture devalues women. An unborn baby girl might well be aborted if the parents knew its gender. It’s heart breaking to me. The very thought, is unthinkable in my family.
I have been blessed more than most men to have been surrounded all my life by loving and amazing women. Their lives are blessed of God. My life has been blessed to the highest level because of them.
In my family, the women and girls are cherished, and loved. They are also respected, listened to, and honored. I always want them to know that!
Each of the married women love and honor their husbands and treat them like kings. No wonder each husband finds it easy to treat his wife like a queen and cherish her.
The daughters love and honor their fathers. They treat him with great respect. They in turn are loved and doted on. They have never felt unwanted, but rather are treated as if they were a princess.
The same is true for all the grand daughters.
It would be a near impossibility to find a family that loves it’s women more than the Ballestero family loves theirs.
With all of the above in mind, today I wish to stop and honor the women in my world.
I want to tell all of you that I love you, I honor you, and I cherish you, and I am proud of you. You all have me forever wrapped around your little fingers. I have you wrapped around my heart.
You are so gifted and talented. You are:
- Singers
- Song Writers
- Musicians
- Music Teachers
- Choir Leader
- Speakers
- Writers
- Authors
- School Teachers
- Recording Artists
- Artistic
- Designers
- Business Owners
- Leaders
- Beautiful
- Loving
- Nurturing
- Tender
- intelligent
- The Best Cooks In The World.
- The Best Mothers In The World.
- The Best Wives In The World.
- And… You really love the Lord.
- (This list could go on awhile…)
You might often be embarrassed by me, but you will never be unwanted! I love you and pray God richest blessings on you in all you do! There will never be such a thing as an unwanted girl in my family!
Let me show my readers a picture or two of why I am such a blessed man!
My Mom, Mother-in-law, Wife, Daughter, Daughters-in-law, Grand Daughters, Sisters, Sisters-in-law and Nieces are shown below. Besides all these, there are my wonderful cousins, close friends and “adopted” family members.
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- My Mother – Content Faith Ballestero
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- My Mother
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- My “Other” Mother – Marian June Davis
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- Mom Davis
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- My Wife – Marcia Starr Ballestero
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- Marcia & Marty Ballestero
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- My Daughter – Marisa Ballestero Hartzell
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- Pastor Brandon & Marisa Hartzell
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- My DIL – Kim Elrod Ballestero
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- Pastor Anthony & Kim Ballestero
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- My DIL – Christy Huntley Ballestero
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- Pastor Bryan & Christy Ballestero
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- My DIL – Courtney Phebus Ballestero
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- Pastor Martyn II & Courtney Ballestero
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- My DIL – Jasmine Robinson Ballestero
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- Andy & Jasmine Ballestero
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- Grand Daughter – Kalyx Ballestero
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- Grand Daughter – Christyana Ballestero
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- Grand Daughter – Chloe Ballestero
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- Grand Daughter – Ainsley Hartzell
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- Sister – Beverly Anne Ballestero
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- Sister – Carlene Branham
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- Sister – Ramona Yandris
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- Pastor Nathan & Ramona Yandris
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- Sister – Nila Marxer
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- Rev. Eric & Nila Marxer
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- My SIL – Alexa Starr Olson
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- Pastor Rick & Alexa Olson
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- My SIL – Rebecca Starr Trammell
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- Pastor David & Rebecca Trammell
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- My SIL – Priscilla Starr Spears
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- Pastor Curtis & Priscilla Spears
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- My SIL – Sara Starr Copple
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- Pastor Tom & Sara Copple
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- Pastor Royce & Step-SIL Glenna Davis Walker
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- Carlene, Nila, Ramona, seated – Martyn
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- Priscilla, Mom Davis, Marcia, Alexa, Rebecca, Sara
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- Niece – Stacy Branham
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- Niece – Elisha Yandris
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- Niece – Erica Marxer
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- Niece – Shauna Olson
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- Niece – Elizabeth Olson
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- Niece – Lindsay & Aaron Olson
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- Niece – Farrah Trammell Erwin
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- Niece – Heidi Trammell
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- Niece – Britt Spears
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- Niece – Charity Spears
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- Niece – Natalie Spears Colegrove
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- Niece – Michelle Hutchison
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- Niece – Sharayah Copple
Every One Of These Ladies Are Wanted!!
It don’t get any better than this. I, my friend, am a blessed man!
The Joy The Jailers Couldn’t Junk
The Joy The Jailers Couldn’t Junk
John was a happy man, a very happy man. He wore an easy smile on his wrinkled face, yet his life had not been without turmoil. His quick temper had earned him a nickname when he was very young. But that was all behind him now.
Several times men had tried to kill him. Every time he had been fortunate to have escaped a horrible death at their hands.
He had travelled around Europe and Asia a lot when he was a young man. He had made a few friends and a lot of enemies in those travels. Some that met him never forgot him. Others never forgave him. He had made quite a reputation for himself. Some loved him. Some wanted him dead.
He was finally captured and ordered to spend the rest of his life in captivity. Without the chance of parole. By now, he had spent years in solitary confinement. No one had ever come to see him. No one was allowed.
He was found guilty of crimes against the state. The High Court in Greece was brutal to him; he was given the maximum punishment.
The Greek authorities could now rest in peace. John the troublemaker was finally off the streets. Their jobs would now be much easier.
John was lonely, and now in his advanced age, he was dying. There was no outwardly discernible reason for joy in his life, but he was still a very happy man. He felt that he had much to be happy about.
Yet one ever wrote to him much, if at all. He wrote letters that never got answers. He wrote quite a few of them actually. All he could do was hope that someone would read what he had written. He may finally die here, not knowing for sure if anyone ever did.
He was a brilliant man and a deep thinker. He wrote about love. He wrote about how families and friends should treat each other. He wrote about relationships, and then he wrote about love some more.
What he really loved was his children. He hoped his children would read the things that he had written. John had no regrets though. He would live his life over again just the same if he were given another chance.
He never wrote about his loneliness. He never wrote about his pain. He never wrote about his ailments. He never wrote about his separation from loved ones. He never wrote about his confinement or impending death.
But he did write about what made him a happy man. He wrote about what gave him joy even though things that would fill others with sorrow surrounded him. In his despair, he still had joy.
He wrote: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” 3 John 1:4
John’s greatest joy was knowing his children lived for God. It just doesn’t get any better than that!
Young Person, Is That The Best Deal You Could Make?
Young Person, Is That The Best Deal You Could Make?
- Some People are just awful in Business.
- It’s just not their nature to bargain, barter, or make a good deal.
- They always seem to get cheated.
- They always lose money when they sell things.
- Others easily take advantage of them.
Imagine Then:
- Selling an heirloom at a yard sale for $1.00.
- Being happy to unload a treasure, at a give-a-way price, then get pressured to take $.50 and do.
- Later, you find out the real value and you are ashamed of your own stupidity!
- You realize you acted like you were an Idiot!
- You sold it too cheap!
- You’ll spend your life with that regret.
- You didn’t make the Best Deal You Could Make!
- Did you think you would never find another buyer? (Was it Seller’s Panic?)
- Basically, it looks like you were willing to give it away, or you didn’t care.
- To YOU it had no value, because you placed none upon it.
- Was it because you don’t know the value or worth of your possessions?
- How can you possess something for years and be clueless of its value?
- If you inherited something, you may or may not be sure of its value.
- That’s why you could always get an appraisal, or even a second opinion.
- You take what you have to a knowledgeable party and say:
- Tell me what it’s worth?
- Is this junk or real.
- An Heirloom or Trash?
- Then you believe what they said and never settle for less.
- Treat yourself the same way
What Am I Talking About? The Value Of You!!
- You.
- The Value Of You.
- The Business of You on the Open Market.
- And what worries me is that You may be settling for give-a-way price.
- If so, YOU must not have any respect for yourself.
- Or any hopes you have of ever doing much for God.
- Because you were willing to place an Heirloom in the same basket as the Trash.
- Too blinded by the flesh, to see the value of God’s gift (call) in your life.
I’m Always Amazed At Good Boys And Girls Settling For Spouses With:
- No spirituality.
- No personality.
- No signs of the Holy Ghost.
- No common ground but fleshly desire.
And I Say To Myself. “Was That The Best Deal You Could Make?”
- “Why didn’t you go to your Pastor and get an appraisal?”
- “ And then, believed him?”
- “Why didn’t you go to your Parents and get an appraisal?”
- “And then believed them?”
The Body’s Skin Is Only The Wrapping Of The Present.
- Only an idiot would so fall in love with the wrapping, that they never want to open the gift and see what is on the inside.
- It’s what’s on the inside that is of value.
- Shallow people fall in love with the wrapping and not what’s inside.
You Look In The Mirror, And…
- All you see of yourself is a nose you don’t like.
- Ears that somehow are all wrong to you.
- Zits that you just know will turn off the world.
- A Shape or Build that’s far from pleasing in your eyes.
- So you feel that because you are, for the moment unhappy with the wrapping, you think the inside must not be worth much either.
- So you De-value yourself.
- That’s the first step towards making a bad Business Deal in life.
- Settling for some Carnal Companion for a Marriage Partner.
- Settling for someone who is very wrong for you.
- I ask again, Was That The Best Deal You Could Make?
- I wish I could get you to believe that: “You are someone very special!”
Hey guys, if all you are interested in is a girls dress size, then that may be all you ever get. If you marry just for the wrapping, you might be disappointed with the present. But if you look deeper and marry what’s inside, you’ll not be sorry.
- What makes a person of Value & Worth settle for someone who is shallow and empty? (You are deceived if you think you will help them grow in God. Let them mature and grow in God first and then consider marriage.)
- What makes a person of Value marry some sorry outfit that won’t work and just sits at home plays his Sony Play Station or Xbox 360 all day and night?
- What makes a person of Value marry someone who is half Psycho? Was that the Best Deal they could make? Surely not.
- What makes a person of Value marry someone who would rather do drugs than live for God?
Maybe you’re in a small home missions church and you love God. But there are just not many boys in your church. You get desperate and feel like you are running out of chances to get married, so you grab the first person who smiles at you. Regardless if they are in church or out. Regardless if they are on fire for God or not. Don’t think you will marry them and then fix them or get them saved. The odds are against you.
What makes a person of Value meet some carnal Quail-head at a Conference or Camp, and fall for them. Then marry and leave a Great church to go to some dried up excuse for one. Their soul will not doubt dry up too, just because they thought this is the best they could do.
In my opinion, it’s better to be an old maid wishing you could get married, than to be a married woman wishing you were an old maid. It would be better to be a bachelor on fire for God, than to marry someone who will drag you out of church. Why would anyone want to spend the rest of his or her life saying, “Come on honey, go to church with me tonight. Pleeeeeze?”
God’s plan for your life involves great things for you and for His Kingdom. Don’t go hormonal stupid and mess up what Heaven has in store for you!
Let Me Talk About The Parents For A Minute!
Isaac and Rebecca set helplessly by as their son threw away his future and married women that brought grief to their hearts. Sadly, it still is happening today.
(Gen 26:34) And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
(Gen 26:3V) Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
They were grieved because they knew Esau could have made a better deal and didn’t. But then again, this is the same man who made a bad deal in trading his birthright for a bowl of beans. Some people never seem to catch on.
I just happen to be the proud father of the most beautiful daughter in the world who is just as beautiful on the inside. She is married to a great pastor that makes my heart proud as well. They are a wonderful couple that brings great joy to our family and me.
When my daughter Marisa was still single and living at home, it was not uncommon for young men to travel long distances just to come and see her. Pretty girls are worth seeing. They all hoped for a chance to win her affection. She did a good job filtering out the bad ones. (She got that gift and her good looks from her Mama.)
One time though, I didn’t give my daughter a chance to say no to a potential suitor. As the father, I became the filter and her personal defender.
She was about eighteen when a knock came on our front door one day. I opened the door and was very surprised. I did not know the young man, nor had I seen him before. Neither had I ever heard him mentioned.
It looked like someone had set a bowl on top of his head and mowed around it leaving a black thick thatch of hair on top. He had a pierced lip, nose and an earring. His tongue was pierced too. His clothes looked soiled.
I nodded and said hello.
He gamely smiled and said, “Is Marisa Home.”
I looked him up and down real slow letting the smile leave me face. Then I looked him in the eye and with my no-nonsense voice I said, “Not to you, she’s not.)
The look of shock was still on is face when I closed the door.
Don’t even think about telling me I was rude or impolite. I am a Father. A Father’s job is to protect his family.
You don’t raise a daughter up to the age of eighteen and then throw her away to the first pair of britches that comes by. Neither do you raise up a son and throw him to the first skirt that rustles in his direction. Furthermore, you don’t let them throw themselves away either.
If all they hear from mom and dad is criticism and negativity about themselves, they may not value themselves very much either. You may have just set up your own child to make a bad deal in life.
Be thankful to God if your child is a good son or daughter. Brag on them, encourage them, guide them without nagging or harshness. Love them into making the right choices. Validate their achievements and right choices with praise.
Young Person. God did something special when He made you. Believe it, and never settle for anyone that would keep you from being what God meant you to be. His hand is on your life. Don’t take it off.
Memorial Day 2011
Memorial Day 2011
Thank God for those who gave willingly of themselves for our country and for our freedom. Their memories are hollowed in our hearts because of their sacrifice. We will never be able to repay that debt. May their love for America never be forgotten.
My father, Carl J. Ballestero and my wife’s father, William R. Starr, both served during World War II. My uncles Stan and Wendell Gleason served as well. Today, my heart breathes a personal word of thanks to them especially.
My prayer is that God will continue to bless America.
My Dad, Pvt. Carl J. Ballestero
Carl J. Ballestero
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William R. Starr
William R. Starr
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There are some veterans of another war that I’d like to honor today too. They fought in a Spiritual War and in a Spirit filled Army. These men all preached to me. Some counseled me and redirected my focus. They fought against hell to save me. All in some measure have affected my life and my ministry and I honor them. May they all rest in peace. They will never be forgotten in my heart.
Starting first with my Father. My Father was also my pastor. He pastored 25 years and evangelized for 25 years. Everything I know and everything I am, I owe to God and to him. If you ever heard him preach, you never forgot what you felt and heard. He was truly a man of God. I miss him everyday. I am very proud to call him Dad.
Carl Ballestero - My father and my pastor.
Carl Ballestero preaching on the streets of Fresno, CA.
My dear Father-In-Law, William R. Starr was a tremendous preacher and a giant among men. He was a wise leader of men, a church planter and revivalist. He not only worked a secular job, but was pastor of a large church and District Superintendent of Michigan for 28 years at the same time. A true Christian if I ever met one. He is greatly loved and sorely missed.
My Wife's Daddy - Pastor William R. Starr
William R. Starr
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My uncles (My mother’s brothers) Two of the kindest and gentlest men in Pentecost. Both of them were great preachers.
Uncle Wendell and Uncle Orion Gleason
Jimmy Davis - My Dad's pastor, a preacher and teacher without peer.
Ike Terry - Whatever he preached or said to you, you never forgot it.
Robert Cavaness - Beloved friend and practical Bible teacher.
Pastor/Missionary Robert McFarland - baptized me.
Verbal Bean - his ministry moved my walk with God to a higher level.
Pastor/Missionary Leamon Reynolds - my pastor when I received the Holy Ghost.
Paul Jordan - Great preacher and friend.
Pastor/Missionary Juan Alvear - his anointing always made me cry when he preached
Roger Evens - What an anointing. Tremendous Bible teacher, singer, musician and friend.
Pastor/Missionary Harvey Davis. My father's friend and mine. What a preacher.
Missionary J.B. Lambeth - Helped put a passion in my heart for winning souls.
Lee Davis - Great family friend and preacher. He built a great church.
H.B. Morgan - I loved to hear him preach on the Godhead.
Bill Bowman - Fearless minister of the Gospel and a dear friend.
J.T.Pugh - This man preached a message that saved me and my ministry. It truly changed me.
Joe Duke - put the fear of God in us and helped us all pray through.
C.W. Shew - Defender of Apostolic Truths and lover of good men.
I thank God for, and honor the memory of these men who helped mold my life and my ministry. They may have all died, but they live on in my heart.
Out Of Context, But Still The Truth
Out Of Context, But Still The Truth
With my Reader’s permission, I am attempting to take a scripture out of context to illustrate a point. Knowing that doing so is dangerous; I will try to be careful. The scripture phrase that caught my attention comes from Psalms ninety-one.
Psa. 91:6… the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
“The Destruction That Wasteth At Noon Day.”
The original meaning of the impending judgment in this verse gets obscured when I think of a secondary application.
The life of a man, I suppose could be loosely classified using three basic stages of life, Youth, Middle Age, and Old Age.
Adults understand that young people can make mistakes. With the maturing process sometimes come tears and maybe even a little heartache. Older folks sometimes look at a young person with problems and tell themselves, “They’ll grow out of it!” Most often, they do. It’s called maturity.
By the time a man is retired, and his hair has fallen out, he is expected to act like he has some sense. As Bill Cosby once quipped, “He’s an old man trying to get into heaven now.”
The middle-aged group, however, is my focus. Society has a term for a guy who ‘acts out’ or does something stupid when he is middle age. They call it a mid-life crisis. Pick up on the word crisis. To me, that crisis can be the ‘destruction that wasteth in the noonday’ of a man’s life.
Of late, I’ve heard way too many stories of such destruction. I understand that all of us go through hormonal changes before we die. It’s no secret. We know about it. We all know about it even before it happens. Even with all the warning signs, some men (occasionally a woman, but mostly men) surrender to their primal urges. They no longer think of family, church or God. All they can focus on is their own desire. They selfishly trade all their family’s future peace and joy for what they imagine is the ultimate pleasure. The forbidden.
Why do some Spirit filled men ignore all the warnings and throw moral caution to the wind. I know some that made it through their youth and remained pure. Then, they messed up when they got older. That’s pure stupidity. Right when you have the most to lose, you throw it away for a fling.
Look again at the faithful bride you were once were head over heals in love with. The one God gave you. You can’t afford to let her walk away! And your children! Man, are you crazy? How do you face your babies when they know you’ve just destroyed their home? What’s going to happen to them? You’ve just brought your own house down on top of yourself. It’s not worth it… ever!
Esau threw away a birthright for just one meal. Heb. 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Don’t do anything stupid. Keep your flesh under subjection. It’s possible or God would not have required it. It’s what normal people do. It’s certainly what Spirit-filled people do. Die out to your carnal lusts. The Apostle Paul told us he did. He said he died daily. If Paul had too, we don’t have an excuse.
Every one has to keep their flesh under subjection and in control. Quit thinking that you are an exception. You’re not. Everyone’s flesh is weak. We all need God’s help. We also need to purpose in our own hearts to be faithful.
I can’t make you be faithful to your wife, sir. Ma’am, I can’t make you be faithful to your husband either. I sure can’t make you love each other. Actually, no one can make you do anything. The price you will pay for your personal pleasure will be greater than you could ever imagine. It will end in disillusion and shame.
There are three scripture verses encouraging men to love their wives.
- The first one explains that she should be loved with all your heart.
- The second scripture admonishes the husband to let go of the past problems in the relationship, and in spite of those hurts, love her!
- The third one commands husbands to love their wife like they love themselves. If you don’t love your wife, then you don’t even love yourself.
Eph. 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Col. 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Eph. 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Purpose in your heart to protect yourself and protect your family from the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Be the man your wife needs you to be.
Be the man your children believe you to be.
Be the man God has called you to be.
Be a Man!
When You Go To War, You Take Your Family With You.
When You Go To War, You Take Your Family With You.
Today I saw a picture in Yahoo News taken of a family during the civil war. It’s meaning was powerful then, it still is today.
MJB
Rare Civil War photos document life between battles
America’s Civil War, whose 150th anniversary is marked on Tuesday, is so often described in battles — the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Fort Sumter — that it may be easy to forget that the soldiers who fought in the four-year war had a lot of time between fighting. The rare photos seen below document just that — the time soldiers spent waiting, preparing, recovering or just living.
“We wanted to show more of the daily life of these people and remind people that they were living their lives in the middle of this horrible war and there was a lot of daily living going on,” says Kelly Knauer, editor of “TIME The Civil War: An Illustrated History.”
He points out that because of where camera technology was at the time, the in-between was much of what was photographed during the Civil War, since battle scene photos would often come out too blurry. The war marks one of the first times dead bodies were photographed. Another thing that comes out of some of the photos is a time truly left in the past, when family members and nearly entire towns would travel with the men to their battlegrounds.
As Knauer notes: “When they went to war, they took their whole families with them.”
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May we as Christian parents always remember, when we go to war against another brother or sister, we take our whole family with us!
Are The Heroes Here Yet?
Are The Heroes Here Yet?
Pastor Brandon Hartzell is my son-in-law. He’s just the best one a father-in–law could ever have. I love him.
He was not raised in a pastor’s home, yet he deeply loves and respects the ministry. He treats me with more honor than I deserve.
He’s often had his picture taken with great men he’s revered. In his office there are pictures on the wall or on his desk of men like Bro. J.T. Pugh, Bro. Wayne Huntley and others who have made positive influences in his life.
Bro. Hartzell deeply loves the ministry and the godly men he has met. He also has a great gift of remembering what they taught him.
Pastor Brandon Hartzell & Ainsley
He also tries to instill into his children and his congregation in Cary, North Carolina that it is a privilege to have these great men of God visit their church and minister to them.
Pastor Hartzell openly tells his people that these men have given their lives to the Gospel and are modern day heroes of the Faith.
He recently announced to his church that the next Sunday, a Missionary would be in visiting in service with them.
Ainsley, his four-year-old daughter, wanted to ride to Sunday School with her Daddy that morning. Upon arriving early at the church, she walked into the auditorium and looked around for the Missionary. She didn’t see anyone she didn’t already know. Little Ainsley looked up at her daddy and said, “Daddy, are the Heroes here yet?”
(Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all Pentecostal kids felt that our Missionaries were Heroes? Maybe they would, if we taught them.)
The Little Biscuit Girl
The Little Biscuit Girl
Carlene Branham
My sister, Carlene Branham, is among the world’s best. That’s no joke. This is not just a big brother talking and bragging on his sister. She’s Good. She’s Good with a capital ‘G’.
I’ve eaten in 48 states, and 17 countries. Can’t ‘nobody’ bake better breads, cakes, cookies, cookie bars, or pastries better than hers. She wins hands down.
She makes the ‘Best’ Wedding cakes. They are beautiful AND delicious. Anything that goes into an oven just seems to know Carlene by her first name.
Not only her family, but even her friends and church family look to her for the superb dessert. Her job counts on her to do the companies’ meals for their clients. Even the kids at Bible School, three hours away, know her. They call her ‘Aunt’ Carlene. She currently has a niece named Erica, at I.B.C. that she pampers with goodies and other sweets. She catered to her nephews when they were there. She also panders to the appetites of Erica’s friends by bringing zip-locked bags with their names on them for some of the kids. They love her like family.
At our Ballestero family gatherings, Carlene endears herself to the maximum with her homemade goodies. Carlene smiles her thanks. Her desserts are scarfed up by the chow hounds in the family, of which I am chief.
But that’s not how it started.
I know. I’m the big brother. I’m five years older. I remember the day she didn’t smile.
Let me tell you about the first time Carlene, the Bakery Wizard Girl, made biscuits. In those days, no one ever heard of buying biscuits in a can. They all were made from ‘scratch’.
Carlene was in Elementary School. She was in the 3rd or 4th grade, if I recall right. She had always tried to help Mom in the kitchen and quickly picked up a desire to bake. Mother consented to letting her make biscuits by herself one Saturday.
As we gathered around the table to eat, Mother proudly announced to Dad that Carlene had made the biscuits. Carlene smiled. This was her first attempt at baking. Every girl wants her cooking to meet the approval of her Father. Carlene was no exception.
After the prayer, and the passing of bowls and plates of food, the eating began. Slyly Carlene watched to see if Dad had taken a bite of his biscuit.
Dad picked up the biscuit with great ceremony. He cut it open and then buttered it. After placing the two halves together, Dad raised it to his mouth and took a bite.
Immediately, Dad let his biscuit fall to his plate. Unknown to any of us, Dad had slipped his other hand under the table. When the biscuit hit the plate, Dad thumped the underside of the table with his knuckles at the same time. It was timed perfectly. It sounded like a brick hitting the plate instead of a biscuit.
Carlene immediately burst into tears. Her dream of making good biscuits, was dashed in her mind. Her little heart was broken.
The meal was stopped long enough for Dad to comfort her and make amends.
(I’m her brother and I wouldn’t lie… they were good.)
Who knew that little girl in Elementary School would have such a gift? All it needed was time. Who knew what marvels she would create in years to come.
Yet at that moment in her little life, she came close to feeling like a failure and a disappointment to her Father.
One might say, that was nice family story. What was your point?
Actually, I have two points.
Point 1. If your attempts in living for God sometimes make you feel that you are a failure because of other people’s reactions. Be encouraged. The end is not yet. I would love to think that the day will come when you are the one that is the role model.
God sees the end from the beginning. Your day will come. Don’t cry, just keep trying.
Point 2. I love you so much Carlene. I need some cookie bars real bad!
Apostolic Expository Series
Christy Ballestero (My Beautiful DIL)
http://marciaballestero.com/
Pastor Anthony & Kim Ballestero, New Destiny Worship Center, Clearwater, FL (My Son)
Pastor Bryan & Christy Ballestero, Temple Of Pentecost, Raleigh, NC (My Son)
James Groce Blog – "Toward The Mark"
Kenneth Bow Blog
Kingdom Speak Podcast
Philip Harrelson – "The Barnabas Blog"
Verbal Bean Ministries
Holy Ghost Radio
The Ballestero Blog 