press on!press on! webzine is published quarterly: march, june, september, and december. for...

Press On!

W e b z i n e

VISIT www.pressonwebzine.com Summer 2015

Real Talk — Loving Yourself Will Help You Love Others

Love Conquers Hate — The Emanuel 9

Leadership 101: It is in the Follow-up

Table of Contents

Features

4 If the World Ended Today, What Would You Regret?

5 Real Talk — Loving Yourself Will Help You Love Others

6 I Know He Loves Me—Dad

7 The Power of Praise and Worship

8 Love Conquers Hate –The Emanuel 9

9 Leadership 101: It is in the Follow-up

10 Survival

In Every Issue

3 Editor’s Note

6 My Testimony – A Soft Answer

Founder, Design Director and Writer

Phenola Moore

Executive Editor E. Marilyn Stackhouse

Press On! Webzine is published quarterly: March, June, September, and December.

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E-mail comments and/or questions to [email protected]

VISIT www.pressonwebzine.com 2 Press On! Summer 2015

Stock photos downloaded from www.Deposit Photos.com.

Editor’s Note

Love is said to be the universal language of the world. It comes in many forms and when shared and received, it is beautiful. However, we can be-come so caught up in our daily tasks that we forget to show love towards

ourselves and others. This issue of Press On! Webzine focuses on love.

“Real Talk – Loving Yourself Will Help You Accept Other Women,” shares how prejudices can keep us from treating our sisters fairly. Tiffany Stokes, 14, and Tylinn Tilley, 13, expressed their love for God when they

cried out to Him to rescue them from frigid Utah waters in “The Power of Praise and Worship.” In observance of Father’s Day. “I Know He Loves Me – Dad” shares the unique way that my father shows love towards his

family. Forgiveness is one the highest expressions of showing God’s love. “Love Conquers Hate — Emanuel 9” shares why the survivors and de-ceased family members could do so after the killing. “My Testimony – A

Soft Answer” reveals how the Holy Spirit worked through me to answer softly to a rude com-ment about my breasts.

Other articles in this issue include “Leadership 101: It is in the Follow-up” which gives readers tools to make events better. “It Has to Happen – A Falling Away” reminds us that several things need to happen before the end of time. I also included poems, “If the World Ended Today,

What Would You Regret?” and “Survival.”

These are just a few articles in this issue. Thank you for reading and sharing Press On! Webzine, www.pressonwebzine.com. Don’t forget to e-mail me your comments at [email protected] because I love reading them. :>)

Take care. ■

Phenola Moore Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is King James Version. “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 Phenola Moore Copyright © 2015 Press On! Webzine


VISIT www.pressonwebzine.com

If the World Ended Today, What Would You Regret? By Phenola Moore

If the world ended today, what would you regret? Telling him that you love him. Saying I am sorry. Swallowing your pride and pursuing that woman.

If the world ended today, what would you regret? Telling the truth in spite of the consequences. Saying yes when you said no. Combatting your fears to pursue that dream.

If the world ended today, what would you regret? Telling your boss no to something you didn’t feel right about. Saying I’ll do it instead of delegating. Living instead of existing.

If the world ended today, what would you regret? Telling your career no and starting your family now. Saying yes to God earlier. Being you in every circumstance.

If the world ended today, what would you regret? ■

4 Press On! Summer 2015

She walks into the room and you automatically decide that you won’t like her. Or maybe your stomach curls every time he posts a new photo of himself on social media. They haven’t done anything to you, but somehow just rub you the wrong way. However, loving yourself and how God created you can help you accept others.

Believing that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, celebrating your own beauty, and dis-pelling past and present negative comments others say or you believe about yourself will help eradicate these feelings. To do this, you may have to get rid of what you were taught. As a child, you may have heard comments such as, “that type of woman thinks she is cute” or “I hate smart guys like that.” No matter how many times you hear it is wrong to feel that way, when they come into your presence, something moves you to either ignore or show disdain towards them.

Psalm 139:14 states, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” There is just one of you, and God did that for a reason. You have unique features that make you beautiful and you should celebrate them. Take a long look in the mirror and acknowledge at least one thing that you like about yourself. Ask God to allow you to work past the negative comments people have said or are saying about you, and those you think about yourself. Every time you hear them, remember you are a unique creation. When negative thoughts about yourself spring up, stop them in their tracks. A healthy love for yourself, not conceit, can help you to freely love others.

Excluding others we have a prejudice against isn’t Christian like. Take the time to get to know

people and don’t judge them by what you think or have been taught. ■

Loving Yourself Will Help You Love Others By Phenola Moore

5 Press On! Summer 2015 VISIT www.pressonwebzine.com

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+139:14&version=KJV

My Testimony – A Soft Answer By Phenola Moore

While in line waiting to sing before Communion service last month, a senior-citizen choir member bolted towards me and said, "Your

nipples are showing." Instead of flying off the handle, I replied, "Why are you looking so close at my breasts?” A soft answer to her insulting comment diffused what could have been a volatile situa-

tion.

Proverbs 15:1 states, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” God wants us to carefully choose our words by allowing the Holy Spirit to rule our tongues. Although she threw me off for about a minute, I recovered. I pushed past her comments be-

cause I realized that the devil tried to use her to take my focus off of the church service that was about to begin. What she said could have crushed me to the point where I would have gone home because of embarrassment, but the Holy Spirit taught me to respond to these types of

comments, and to “keep it moving.”

It is rude to confront people you barely know with inappropriate comments. Loudly comment-

ing on my breasts was a little too intimate for me. I thank God that He gave me a quick and calm response to keep the situation from getting out of control. ■

I Know He Loves Me – Dad

By Phenola Moore I Know He Loves Me By the way he took care of his family “Old school” dad Whose actions speak louder than words

I know he loves me Working the graveyard shift In at midnight, out around 7 or 8 a.m. Sometimes seven days a week

I know he loves me There isn’t a day that I don’t feel it Dependable dad Expressing love the way he knows how

I know he loves me By the look in his eyes The smile on his face And the way he calls my name ■


(left to right) Shirley Jacobs and Phenola Moore Photo taken by Shirley Jacobs a few minutes before the incident.

The Power of Praise and Worship By Phenola Moore


According to CNN, Tiffany Stokes, 14, and Tylinn Tilley, 13, survived chilly Utah waters for three hours by singing church songs and praying after their boat, with family members and friends, capsized (http://wtvr.com/2015/06/04/teen-girls-survive-in-frigid-utah-waters/). When I read this article I thought about the power of praise and worship and how they are the believers’ weapon against the enemy. Pastor John K. Jenkins, Sr., First Baptist Church of Glenarden, stated that praise is when you talk about God, but worship is when you stop talking about God and talk to Him. Stokes and Tilley cried out to God, in distress as they sang His praises and prayed for deliverance. Their prayers directed their worship to God who delivered them from their life-threatening situation.

In Bible study I learned that Tehillah is a hymn of praise, glorifying God in song, Psalm 66:1-2 and Psalm 34:1. I thought about the many times music has soothed me, such as the time I re-ceived news that my Aunt Edna was sick in the hospital As I rode to see her, I turned on the ra-dio and gospel recording artist Stephen Hurd’s song “Lead me to the Rock” was playing. With tears streaming down my cheeks, it was as if a wave of comfort came over me, and I was able to keep it together when I got to the hospital.

What songs do you know that give praise and honor to God? My favorite hymn is “It is Well” because it reassures me that no matter what I am going through God has the last say and will handle it. Richard Smallwood’s “I Love the Lord” takes me to a place of worship because it re-minds me of my relationship with God, and Walter Hawkins’ “Changed” expresses what hap-pened when I let Jesus into my life. These are a few of my favorites, but I have a plethora of inspirational songs that I listen to that put me in the mood to praise and worship God.

Stokes and Tilley were taught to pray and sing church songs. If your child was confronted with a life-threatening situation, would he/she be able to recite songs of praise or pray? I still remem-ber the songs I learned as a girl growing up in church such as “Yes, Jesus Loves me” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” Learning songs that remind us of God and his goodness is what will sustain us through life situations.

Praise and worship has the power to take our minds off of our situations and focus on God. When we release it to God, He has the power to take care of it while reducing our stress. ■


Love Conquers Hate – The Emanuel 9 By Phenola Moore "Love is always stronger than hate,” said Chris Single-ton, son of the slain Sharonda Singleton, (http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/18/us/charleston-church-shooting-victims/index.html). On Wednesday, June 17th, 21-year-old Dylann Roof attended Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church for an hour before he opened fire and killed nine of the at-tendees, ranging in age from 26 to 87-years-old. At Roof’s hearing on Friday, June 19th, a survivor and the family members of the deceased were present. They expressed that although what Roof did was horrific, they forgave him. Most people couldn’t believe or un-derstand how they could forgive a person who terror-ized and killed their loved ones. However, the family members believed that God’s love can override the evil of hate that was exemplified by Roof.

Pastor Jimmy C. Baldwin, Sr., Shiloh Christian Com-munity Church, Baltimore, Maryland, gave a sermon in which he spoke from Acts 28:3, “And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.” Pastor Baldwin’s ex-planation for this Scripture was that Paul shook the snake off before it could bite, and the ven-om could poison him. Immediately, the words “I forgive you” spoken by one of the family members echoed in my head as I listened to the sermon. Like Paul, to keep the bite of hate from poisoning their systems, they had to shake it off by asking God to give them the strength to for-give Roof. Otherwise, hate would poison their systems by festering deep down into their hearts and could spring forth later in the form of hatred, bitterness, or even sickness. To some, granting Roof forgiveness made the family members appear weak. In essence, it takes strength to utter those words after a tragedy. As believers, they are following Jesus’ example when He was crucified on the cross, and said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). He shared how we must forgive those who trespass against us, too.

Love will always supersede hate because that is the way God created the world. We may not understand why God allows such tragedies to happen, especially to innocent people, but as the hymn writer wrote, “We Will Understand it Better By and By.” ■


http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/18/us/charleston-church-shooting-victims/index.html




By Phenola Moore Your event is over and you can breathe a sigh of relief. You thought it was a success and saw little need for improvement, but what did your staff and the people who at-tended think? One way to find out is to so-licit feedback through surveys, focus groups, and/or follow-up meetings with your staff. For example, after a youth event, requesting information via a survey is one way to deter-mine if the students and parents were pleased with the programs/activities offered. The survey form could include:

Did the drop-off/pick-up times work?

Did your child participate in the early morning breakfast?

How did you find out about the event?

What did your child think about the staff?

Space for additional comments Even though you may have had a record num-ber of youth in attendance, the children ap-peared to enjoy themselves, and the parents seemed overjoyed, soliciting feedback could help identify improvements for the next year. Assembling a focus group that includes the di-rector, at least two staff members, two parents, and perhaps two youth is another way to meas-ure if your youth group is meeting the needs of participants. In this meeting, you can examine if there was proper media coverage, if infor-mation was released in a timely fashion to the public, or if the event criteria was appropriate. This is not a bashing session, but a meeting to discuss what worked and what may need to be improved.

Conducting a follow-up meeting with your staff can give an inside look on what you may have missed. You can’t see everything during

the event, but your staff can be

the eyes and ears you need. Have someone take notes about each member’s experience and any other comments they may have. Collecting in-

formation in an organized form from outside sources can make your event an even greater success next year. ■

********************************

Leadership 101: It is in the Follow-up


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Survival By Phenola Moore

When you try to make me do what I know isn’t for me, I feel like I am smothering. It is as if you placed an invisible pillow over my face trying to smother me. We toss and tumble. I fight back while you try to place the pillow over my face, again. All with the intent of getting your way. I fight back but you don’t understand because if I yield to you, I will eventually die.

Therefore, I push you off of me with all of my might. You may think I am selfish, but I have to do this to survive. Because you are constantly coming up with things for me to do that make me feel like I am smothering. When will you stop trying to make me do what I feel in my gut is wrong? When will you allow me to live and love my life without putting your desires on my shoulder? Never!

Therefore, I will continue to push because I have to do this in order to breathe.

Selfish you call me, but survival is what it is. ■


“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14


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