Pictures in Glass Frames: a devotional
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Pictures in Glass Frames - Shawn R. Jones
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
When the Glass Breaks
1. Your Life Has Significant Value
2. Restore My Mind
3. You're Never Good Enough
for God
4. Love God First
5. Money Is Not Enough
6. Call His Name
7. Your Heart Aches
8. Pray for Your Enemies
9. Do Not Tolerate Abuse
10. Difficult Trials and God's Will
Reframing Your Picture
11. Are You Sleeping?
12. God Will Get You There
13. Daily Tasks
14. Humble Me
15. Follow Christ Like Children
16. A Good Name
17. Predictable Dependability
18. Nothing Is Private
19. Follow God's Instruction
20. I Will Too
Cropping Your Photo
21. Christian Confidence
22. Handling Disappointment
23. Give Something Away
24. Ripe or Rotten
25. One Flesh
26. Temples of His Creation
27. The Truth
28. A New Language
29. I Talk Too Much
30. Control Your Emotions
Expanding Your Album
31. Let Love Be Your Goal
32. The Giving Principle
33. Fruits of Your Labor
34. Selfless Acts
35. Unlimited Prayer
36. Unbelievers to Believers
37. Judge Not
38. Love Every Member
39. Pray for Wisdom
40. Everyone Is Required to Help
When the Picture Fades
41. Think on Eternal Life
42. Thank God for Preservation
43. My Father, My Father
44. Seeds Still Grow
45. Man Cannot Kill the Soul
46. Move on Despite Tragedy
47. The Day I Started Living
48. Jesus Is the Root
49. Sufficient Grace
50. The World's Troubles
Restoring Your Photo
51. Respect and Praise
52. Give Your Best Every Day
53. Choose Unity over Division
54. Jesus Truly Loves You
55. The Holy Spirit
56. Restore Them
57. God Healed My Body
58. Help Others
59. Compassion for All
60. New Generations
Pictures in Glass Frames
A Devotional
© 2011 by Shawn R. Jones
All rights reserved
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Printed in the United States of America
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ISBN: 9781935507864
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Scripture quoted is in NIV unless otherwise noted.
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Cover Design by Matthew Mulder
Page Layout by Kelley Moore of Points & Picas
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AMBASSADOR INTERNATIONAL
Emerald House
427 Wade Hampton Blvd.
Greenville, SC 29609, USA
www.ambassador-international.com
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AMBASSADOR BOOKS
The Mount
2 Woodstock Link
Belfast, BT6 8DD, Northern Ireland, UK
www.ambassador-international.com
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The colophon is a trademark of Ambassador
Dedication
For my husband, Jeffrey H. Jones,
the most devoted person I know
This unique devotional. . . is superbly written with a warmth and sincerity that requires introspection and encourages a deeper relationship with God.
—Cecilia B Dennery, Christian educator and author
"Shawn Regina Jones’ devotional collection, Pictures in Glass Frames, is filled with healing and insight. Jones’ narratives rend richer and deeper for their compassionate and honest telling. This devotional is excellent for personal growth, or group study."
—Leah Maines, award winning, and
regional bestselling author
Acknowledgments
Special thanks. . .
To God for being everything I will ever need.
To my husband and best friend, Jeffrey, for being loving, selfless, and supportive of all my endeavors.
To my children, Jeffrey and Jade, for reading my manuscript, offering editorial suggestions, allowing me to share their lives, and encouraging me consistently.
To my mother, Rhonda Fitzgerald, for allowing me to share her life with others, believing in me, and raising me with confidence and humility.
To my sister, Rashonda Robinson, for prayer, daily-encouragement, and legal advice.
To my Bishop, Dr. S. Todd Townsend, for life-changing sermons, prayer, encouragement, and a heartfelt endorsement.
To Elder Cecilia Dennery for doing an outstanding job editing my manuscript before I sent it to publishers and also for writing a wonderful endorsement.
To Leah Maines for her kind spirit, ongoing encouragement, and beautiful endorsement.
To Rev. Dr. James Woods, First Lady Barbara Woods, Beverly Cardwell, and Women with a Vision of El Shaddai Christian Assembly for inviting me to give my testimony and share my devotional before it was accepted for publication.
To Teresa Walston for laying hands on me and leaving a beautiful impression on my life.
To Pamela Cruz, an awesome prayer warrior, for praying for me and encouraging me Mother’s Day weekend.
To Jeffrey H. Jones for taking a great author’s photo.
To Lorraine Castle for giving me the assignment to write a devotion a day.
To Melanie Kelly for giving me my first large audience.
To Crystal Waters-Reaves for her infectious strength and encouragement during the times I needed it the most.
To my sister, Rhonda I. Fitzgerald and friends, Tanya Cain and Frieda Bervine, for their support and encouragement.
To Karenanne Brown, Frank Champine, Renee’ Fernandez, Rafael Green, Sharae Mack, Kiana Jones-Peoples, and Cynthia Sabol for reading the manuscript and giving readers’ comments.
To anyone who has ever encouraged me along the way with a prayer, kind word, or smile.
To the outstanding Ambassador International staff for their professionalism and expertise.
1.
Your Life Has Significant Value
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Psalm 51:5
I wasn’t born into the best circumstances. My mother was seventeen years old, on her way to college on a full scholarship. When she became pregnant, my grandmother was devastated. Too poor to pay the doctor to perform an illegal abortion, they experimented with pills, Tanqueray Gin, turpentine, and boiling water. When the popular home remedy failed, my mother was sent to live with her uncle and aunt in Hartford, Connecticut. She was supposed to put me up for adoption, return home to Atlantic City, and prepare to leave for Howard University in the fall. However, when she was eight months pregnant, she changed her mind and refused to sign the adoption papers.
My great uncle and aunt sympathized with their niece, but they still felt she was too young to handle the responsibilities of motherhood. They offered to adopt me, hoping my mother would feel more comfortable knowing her baby would be reared by someone in the family. To their surprise, my mother refused their offer, and much to my grandmother’s dismay, her college-bound daughter returned home with a baby.
My grandmother had reason to be concerned. My mother was poor, unmarried, and knew very little about parenting, but when I came into her life, she gave me the best that she had. My mother also wanted the best for herself. When I was in Head Start, she went back to school. Four years later, she graduated from Rutgers-Camden with honors and used her education to educate me. She also sent me to dancing school, read the Bible to me daily, and kissed me every night before bed. Not once in my childhood did I feel unwanted or unloved, so when she told me about the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy and my birth, I was shocked but not angry.
You may wonder why I know this story and why I’m sharing it with you. First,I know this story because my mother understood that sharing her darkest moments with me would strengthen our bond, and I, in turn, would not be afraid to come to her with my own transgressions. Second, it is important for you to know that over four decades ago, God decided that I should live. He had a plan for me even though I was unplanned,
and He definitely has a plan for you. God can work anything out for you, and His plan will come to fruition regardless of your circumstances.
Dear Lord, please teach me to cherish my life. Remind me that You have a wonderful plan for me even though I was born in sin, and thank You for Your divine virtue that is more powerful than my worst transgressions. Amen.
2.
Restore My Mind
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;