Bits & Pieces Author:Lisa Gilliard
SmileWithMe
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LisaGilliard
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Jesus Fulfills God’sWord Today,letusfocusonthefirstwordandask afewquestions.Hasitcometopass?Ifnot areyouworkingonitormovingtowardsit? Andhaveyoustartedonnextword?AmI movingoutoforder?
WeaskGodinprayerandasong,“Lord, ordermystepsinyourword,dearLord, leadmeguidemeineveryway”.Isthisnot whatwesayandsing?
JesussaysinMatthew11:29Takemyyoke uponyou,andlearnofme;forIammeek andlowlyinheart:andyeshallfindrest untoyoursouls.
Learnofme,Hesays!Readingthrough Matthew,Itooknoticeofthingsbeing fulfilledthatwerespokenbyGodthrough hisprophets.InMatthews,inorderfor Jesustocomeforththroughavirgin,Mary hadtoaccept,saying,“Beholdthehandmaid oftheLord;beituntomeaccordingtothy word.Andtheangeldepartedfromher” Luke1:38.JosephhastoacceptMarybeing withchildandnotputherawaybeing warnedofGodinadreamtofulfillthings spokenbyGod. Matthew1:22Nowallthis wasdone,thatitmightbefulfilledwhich wasspokenoftheLordbytheprophet,
ThenJesuswasborninBethlehemofJudea: forthusitiswrittenbytheprophet.
Matthew1:5-6–Micah5:2
Matthew2:17Thenwasfulfilledthatwhich wasspokenbyJeremytheprophetsaying, 18InRamawasthereavoiceheard, lamentation,andweepingandgreat mourning,Rachelweepingforherchildren, andwouldnotbecomforted,becausethey arenot.
AsyoucontinueinMatthew,youwillread thatJesuswasfulfillingawordfromGod thatwasspokenthroughhisprophets.And hewentinorder.
BeforeJesuswasborn,Hisstepswere orderedbyGodbyspokenwords.Many havecometopassandsomearetobe fulfilled
“Ourstepsare ordered” Therehavebeenmanywordsspokeninmy life,andmanytimesIwouldjumpintrying todoit,anditwasn’ttime.Stressingand worryingabouthowamIgoingtodowhat Godhasshownme,spokethroughme,and tome.
Now,IrealizethateverythingIamgoing throughandlearningistopreparemefor whatGodhasalreadypreparedand finished.AndthatIneedtostayinorderof thestepsthathehasorderedforme.
Goingbacktothefirstwordthatisstill activeandputtingthatintoaction.Because everywordafterthefirstoneisfor buildingontopofthefirstwordspoken.
So,Iencourageustodaytoprayandask Godtohelpusputourstepsinorder accordingtohiswill.Andthatwewalkit outwithgraceandpeace.
ThejourneyiskindofliketheMarioGame tryingtogettothecastletoseethequeen. AndwearerunningtogettotheKing Jesus.Alongtheway,wehavetojumpover stuff,runthroughvalleys,collectcoins,and gainstrength,andlife.Andkeepleveling upgainingknowledgefromthelevelwe justfinished.Witheachlevelgettingalittle harderandharderbutyetmakingittothe end.
Remember, in waiting, our strength is renewed. Use the time to get everything in order. Take His Yoke, Learn of Him SmileWithMe AChildren’sBookCompany
LisaGilliard Author “In The Begining” InAugust2010,mylifewascompletely flipped,turnedupsidedown.Ilosttheloveof mylifeandmyabsolutebestfriend.Dealing withtherealityoflosingmyhusbandof15 yearswasthemostemotionallychallenging taskIhadtoface.Unbeknownsttomost, manydays,Iwasanemotionalwreck.Ihit potholeafterpothole,whichbroughtonthe waterworks-uncontrollablecryingattimes andatthemostunexpectedtimes.Triggers wereeverywhereIturned.Myhusbandhada terminalillnessforthreeyears;therefore,we hadtimetoplanforlifewithouthim.He requestedtobecremated,soafterhis passing,Ispentmanyweekstalkingtohis urnandcrying.Ican’tcountthenumberof timesIcriedmyselftosleepbecausemy heartwastrulyhurting.Icanattestthat you’renevercompletelyreadytofacetheloss ofalovedone,evenwhenyouknowfarin advance.
Thankfully,mydoctorprescribedananxiety medicationandrecommendedgrief counseling.Combiningthesethings,along withmyfaithandtrustinGod,helpedme getittogether.AsIgotbetter,Ihadthe desiretowriteabook.However,Ihadno cluewhatitwouldbeabout.IknewIdidn’t wanttowriteaboutgriefbecauseIhadzero plansofstayinginthatplace(stateof mind).Ipreferredtowriteanuplifting story.Pleasedon’tmisunderstandme.My griefcounselor,alongwithsweetfriends, continuetoputmeincontactwithothers whosharemystorybutarenotyetwhereI amintheirgriefprocess.Ilovetoreassure peoplethatbetterdaysarecoming.
DISCLAIMER:Iamnotalicensedgrief therapistoraJoyRestorationCoach.It’sthe conversationwithsomeonewhocanrelate andhaswalkedtheirpaththatgoesalong way.
So,letmebackupalittlebit.Iaman educatorwith18yearsofexperienceunder mybeltwhenitcomestohelpingchildren navigatelife.Buildingfriendshipsand learninghowtobeagoodhumaniswhereI findmyselfassistingchildrenthemost.One day,Isatdownandmadealistofseveral things(besidescoreacademics)I’veaided childreninaccomplishing.SomeoftheskillsI helpfosterinchildrenareappropriate behavior,respectingauthority,gettingalong withothers,pickinggoodfriends,following directions,respectingthemselvesandothers, communicatingwell,makinggooddecisions, problem-solving,andconflictresolution,just tonameafew.Fastforwardfrom2010to 2020,Ihadan“Aha”moment.Whynotwrite anupliftingbookthatwillhelpchildrenbe goodhumansbysimplybeingonethingK.I.N.Dtoothers?
“Publishing” Ispentagoodbitoftimewritingthe narrative,editing,rewording,changing scenarios,andmovingpagesaround.WhatI thoughtwouldbethebiggestchallenge (communicatingtoanillustratorhowI wantedthecharacterstobeall-inclusive,to look,tobeplaced,theirfacialexpressions, etc.)turnedouttobetheeasiestpartof puttingthebooktogether.CarliKennedy,my Illustrator,wasabletotakemyideasandlay outthebookperfectly.Withjustafewwords, Carliwasabletotransformmycharacters justthewayIwanted.
Next,itwastimetoputatitleonmybook. Afterconsultingwithafewchildren,friends, andothereducators,thetitle-Kindness Confetti-wasborn!
Thenextbigstepwasgettingthebook officiallyputtogether,published,andputin thehandsofchildrenandparents.Ihadtoget mybookcopyrighted,anditneededanISBN. Thatpushedtheprojectbackbyaboutthree weeks.Duringthattime,Iresearchedand reachedouttosomepublishinghouses.I’ll spareyouthedetailsofmeetingthe requirementsforvariouspublishers.Ididhita brickwall,though,whenIwasinsearchofa graphicdesignertoproperlyformatthefront andbackcoversofmybook.Iconsultedwith fourdesigners,butwecouldn'tseemtomeet thepublisher’srequirements.Well,duringthis sametimeframe,myschoolwashavinga recipebookprintedforafundraiser.Long storyshort.Icontactedtheprintingcompany, andtheymadethefinalstepsofthisproject cometofruition.Asaresult,Ichosetoselfpublish.Ittookabout16daysfortheprinters tocompletemybook.
“Get Your Copy” WhilewaitingforKindnessConfettitobe completed,Imetwithawebsitebuilderwho wasabletoputKindnessConfettiofficiallyon themap.Also,duringthose16days,Ireached outtoseveralbusinessownersforthe opportunitytohaveapop-upontheir sidewalk.Sofar,myPopUpeventshavebeen ahugesuccess.Mybookwasofficially completejustbeforeMemorialDay(2023) andmyfirstpop-upwasheldthefirst weekendinJune.Thiswasjustafewdays afterpickingupmybookfromtheprinter! At thatevent,Isold35copiesintwohours!My bookwascompletedinMayandIheldmy booklaunchattheendofJune.Mybook launchwasheldattheendofJune(amonth afterthebookwascompleted).Thatevent wasphenomenal!Somuchlovewasshownto mebymyfamily,friends,andspecialguests thatday.Iwasoncloudnine! Ihavesold196 copiessinceJune.Allsummer,I’ve participatedinPop-Upsacrosstheupstate (Anderson,Easley,Taylors,Downtown Greenville,Greer,andTravelersRest).Soon,I willbetravelingtoHouston,Texastoattend myfirst-everNationalBlackAuthorsBook Festival.
Thesweetnessinallthisisthatonfour occasions,peoplehavepaiditforward.They havepurchasedadditionalcopiesofmybook andaskedmetosharethebookwithfamilies whomaynotbeabletoaffordit.
FollowKindnessConfettionInstagram @smile_with_me_llcandat www.smilewithme2023.com.Checkthese sitestofindoutwherewe’regoingnext. However,ifyou’dlikemetoPopUpatyour event,pleasecallmeat864.635.5880.Books areavailableonthewebsite(listedabove)for $10andasmallshippingfee.Ifyou’dlikeyour copytobeautographed,pleasenotethatinthe specialinstructionsbox.Theagerangeformy bookis2ndgrade-6thgrade.Ithasfour sectionsandattheendofeachsection,you willfind2-3reflectionquestionstodiscuss. And…incaseyou'rewondering…morebooks AREcoming.Iamcurrentlyworkingon VolumeIIandI’mplanningforittobeready bySpring2024.
www.smilewithme2023.com
Celebrating Milestones We are absolutely excited to celebrate one year of Bits & Pieces Magazine. Bits & Pieces was birth in July 2022. What started as writing newsletters for a school turned into a magazine for the world. We know that it is past July but it is never too late.
We say thank you to everyone who has shared a word, thought, story, book,or advertisement in our magazine.
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HouselessYouth Community Awareness Month HomelessYouthMonthholdsimmensesignificanceasitservesasadedicatedperiod toraiseawarenessaboutthemultitudeofchallengesfacedbyyoungindividuals experiencinghomelessnesshereinourlocalcommunity.Thismonthprovidesan invaluabletimetohighlighttheiruniquestrugglesandemphasizesthepressingneed forimmediateaction.Thisarticleaimstodelveintotheimportanceofrecognizing theirneeds,providingthemwithcomprehensivesupportservices,andactively advocatingforpolicyreforms.Byfosteringadeeperunderstandingandempathyfor thisvulnerablepopulation,wecancollectivelyworktowardscreatingasocietythat guaranteesasecureandnurturingenvironmentforeveryyoungpersontocallhome.
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● Romans10:9,10,13 thatifthoushaltconfesswiththymouththeLordJesus, andshaltbelieveinthineheartthatGodhathraisedhimfromthedead,thou shaltbesaved10Forwiththeheartmanbelievethuntorighteousness;and withthemouth,confessionismadeuntosalvation.Romans10:13For whosoevershallcalluponthenameoftheLordshallbesaved
● SinnersPrayer–LordJesus,IknowIamasinner.IbelieveYoudiedformy sins.Rightnow,Iturnfrommysinsandopenthedoorofmyheartandlife.I repentofeachandeveryoneofmysins.Havemercyonme,ohLord,andsave me.IconfessYouasmypersonalLordandSavior.Washandcleansemewith yourblood.AndfillmewithyourHolySpiritinthenameofJesusIprayAmen.
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