Page 18 - Florida Sentinel 11-25-16 Online Edition

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One Church One Child Of Florida, Inc. Challenges Communities To Seriously Consider Adopting Or Mentoring Siblings
This is an urgent and important question that must be raised time and time again, but each time, there is a different child or children. One Church One Child of Florida is reach- ing out to families and individuals in local communities across the state in efforts to help share the truth that the child pictured here and others like her are waiting for a permanent home and/or mentor.
Daily, over 700 children are in need of a family to call their own; many of them are minorities. Can you provide a loving, permanent home for this child or other children like her or consider becoming her mentor?
November is National Adoption Month. Churches are asked to part- ner with One Church One Child in sharing information with congrega- tions and extending Watch-Care Min- istries to children.
Rev. Beverly Hills Lane, State President for One Church One Child of Florida and Vice-President for Na- tional One Church One Child, is chal- lenging fellow Pastors to get involved and encouraging families to open their hearts and homes to children in foster care.
These series of articles feature children located in communities across the state; they have no family identified to adopt them, will you take the challenge of opening your home and family to parenting them? No- vember’s child is highlighted in this article; she too deserves to have a family. Do pray sincerely for her and consider making her a part of your family through adoption or a part of your church through Project Watch- Care, for support and mentoring.
Featured here in the November series of photographs is one youth.
“I care about others”
JANIYA By Pezz Photo
Kind, compassionate, and incred- ibly intuitive, Janiya is a natural- born caregiver. She has a big heart, and the uncanny ability to know ex- actly how others are feeling and what they need.
She can be a little shy at first, but once she’s comfortable she allows playful, fun personality to shine through. Janiya’s proud of her “beautiful brown eyes” and how fast she can run. She loves to sing, swim, be outdoors, and go shopping! Janiya has overcome an incredible amount of self-doubt and difficulty in her young life, and she deserves a lov- ing family that will celebrate and re- enforce her strength every day.
If you are interested in knowing more about Janiya and other chil- dren in foster care available for adop- tion, or if you would like to become a foster parent, mentor, partner or vol- unteer, please contact LaKay Fayson, Recruitment Coordinator for One Church One Child of Florida’s SunCoast Region, at (813) 740-0210 or lakay_fayson@ococfl.org.
The website for One Church One Child of Florida is www.ococfl.org.
Lord, Cleanse Me And Make My Heart Right Before You
Lord, show me any sin in my life that I can confess it to You and be cleansed. Keep me undeceived in my heart and mind. Where I have sinned against you, I ask You to forgive and restore me. Show me if I need to confess my mistakes to anyone else so that the air can be cleared between us.
Confess your trespass to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. JAMES 5:16
Lord, I pray that you will have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgres- sions. Create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51:1,10-11). See if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:24). Show me the truth about myself so that I can see it clearly. Make me clean and right before You. I want Your forgiveness so that times of refreshing may come from Your presence (Acts 3:19).
I acknowledged my sin to You and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. PSALM 32:5
Lord, “wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1-2). “Cleanse me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). I realize that You are a God who “knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21). Show me any place in my life where I harbor sin in thoughts, words, or actions that I have not recognized. Examine my soul and expose my motives to reveal what I need to understand. En- able me to make changes where I need to do so. unlock eyes to what I need to see so that I can confess all sin and repent of it. I want to cleanse my hands and purify my heart as You have commanded in Your Word (James 4:8).
If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And what- ever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 1 JOHN 3:21-22
Tabernacle Of The Enlightened Church Of God
Hosts Banquet Concert
With their doors wide open, the Tabernacle of The Enlightened Church of God invited everyone to join them for their annual ban- quet concert. (PHOTOS BY JULIA JACKSON)
Pastor Derek Leonard speaks during the concert.
Shirliene Cooney enjoyed the services.
Singing during the concert was First Lady and Co-Pastor, Cheryl Leonard.
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