"A Message from Tyler Perry - Pray!"

" Hey Everybody,

Thank you all for the encouragement and letting me know what really
matters. Reading your words really helps me to keep focus, so thanks. I
needed it.

I was running my three miles this morning and was trying to clear my head,
that's usually the time when I get to be quiet and still and commune with
God and just say thank you. I'm out here in the desert. I come here to
rejuvenate and write. Well anyway, this morning I was thinking about how
God answers prayers and I wanted to share this with you.
When I was about 6 or 7 years old I used to watch TV, and as I would watch
I thought that the people on TV actually lived inside the TV set (We had
the big floor model, all my 30 and over people remember that one). I
would try to reach in and get them but I never could. So, I remember
praying to God and asking him to send me some little people to take care
of. I know that this sounds like an impossible prayer to answer but He
did, in a way. My neighbor across the street was moving away and she and
her husband couldn't take their pet parakeets with them. So, she asked me
if I would take them. I was so happy. God had answered my prayers. I had
little people to take care of. And they even talked! That was a good day
in my young life.

It's funny how a child's mind works. But that experience taught me about
prayer. From that time on I would always pray. NO matter how crazy or
wild I got I would always pray. The first 28 years of my life were filled
with anger, bitterness and confusion. I was a boy trying to become a man
and also a fool trying to get some sense (In your 20's you think you know
it all--but even then I would still pray). I prayed in the bad times and
in the good.

I know that you're wondering where I'm going with this but what I wanted
to say to you today is this. Simply pray. Just pray and believe. I know
that many of us are going through things right now with this
administration of ours, with the country being at war for so long, with
the job market being what it is, and people losing their homes everyday.
Gas is high as hell, while oil companies make record profits. Children are
running wild. Grandparents are raising yet another generation and single
mothers are trying to do it all alone. With all of that, I still say,
"Pray!" In my darkest days, in my most frustrated times, times when I
didn't want to live another day, times when I thought that God had left me
in darkness, there was always something in me that would make me pray.
Sometimes my prayer was short, all I could get out was GOD HELP ME, or
JESUS PLEASE. Sometimes I cried out for hours.

Looking back on my life now, I see that every one of those prayers was
heard and answered. Maybe not in the way that I wanted them to be, but he
did answer. My prayer most days now is, "God, let Your will be done.
Amen."

Life gets better. Trust me, I know. If there is nobody around you that
you see it getting better for, then look at me, look at my life. God did
it, and I'm no different from any other person on this earth. I'm not
perfect. I make mistakes often. I have to repent often, I fall short, but
what I know more than anything is that God is a loving, forgiving God and
I'm so glad that He doesn't give us what we deserve. If He did, I
wouldn't be here. But He gives us what He desires for our lives. Hold on,
life gets better. I don't know who this is for today but I hope whoever
it's for that it gives you a little strength to hold on a little longer.

Pray for me, as I am praying for you.

God bless,

Tyler P."

What's your Identity?

I recently had my wallet stolen along with all the important stuff that I keep wrapped up in that small piece of leather, ID’s , credit cards etc etc. As anyone who has ever found themselves in this situation knows it is a major pain. So one Saturday morning I found myself on the phone cancelling accounts , creating new ones etc etc.

That got me thinking about some things. That wallet and everything in it are really not my identity. Those little pieces of plastic help make my life easier but certainly don’t define me. My identity is so much more than that. I am not defined by pieces of plastic wrapped up in a pretty little case, neither am I defined by the items that I have. What defines me is the person that I am and the relationships that I have with others.

My identity is the person that GOD has called me to be.

Jax

PS - Whomever you are that took my purse , I forgive you.