WHEN SISTER Shubert Testified

By Editor-in-Chief, Daveta Brown

Throughout the years, I've witnessed some truly amusing occurrences within the church setting. My upbringing was within the realm of a Pentecostal Holiness church. We proudly identify as charismatic individuals, unafraid to express our enthusiasm through handclapping and foot-stomping praise Church services held a distinct flavor in those earlier days. We were in the initial phases of our spiritual journey, absorbing and evolving in our understanding of Christ, and in how to execute services.

During one such service, a woman that I will call Sister Shubert, took the floor to share her testimony in what was then referred to as a "Testimony Service." As the microphone was handed to her, a series of lighthearted incidents unfolded. These occurrences have become the inspiration for this fiction story based on real events.

First, I want to share more details about the dynamics of testimony service. It was a time when different individuals would spontaneously rise, andwithorwithoutamic,theysimply gave their testimony about the Lord’s goodness Next, they would sing a song of their choosing, and then proceed to testify about the divine interventionsintheirlives.

On one particular day, Sister Shubert eagerly stood up to share her own testimony. With a tambourine firmly grasped in one hand and the microphone in the other, Sister Shubertsaid,"IgivehonortoGod,who is the head of my life, hallelujah!" As she exclaimed "hallelujah," her enthusiasm translated into a forceful tambourine strike that resulted in a fewshinglesunexpectedlytakingflight and hit 2 children! At once, the affected children burst into laughter and ended up collapsing on the floor, scuttlingunderthebenchestochuckle insecrecy.

Meanwhile,oneoftheelderlymothers, whose vision wasn't the sharpest, observed the kids tumbling to the ground. Misinterpreting the situation, shebelievedtheyhadfallenunderthe influence of the Spirit and were speakingintheirheavenlylanguage.

Rushing over to them with an air of fervor, she exclaimed with claps and stomps,"CallonJesus,children;callon Jesus.Heishere!"Inthemidstofthese events, a group, called the mothers' board was busy preparing food downstairsforfundraisingdinnerstobe soldafterthechurchservice.However, anunforeseenmishapoccurredasthe food burned, releasing smoke that gradually seeped into the sanctuary. Coincidentally, at that very moment, Sister Shubert led the congregation in singing, "Send Down the Rain. Lord, senddownthelatterrain!"

Astheroomfilledwithsmoke,someone yelled,"That'stheglorycloud!"Andso, undeterred,theclapping,dancing,and singing persisted. Then, unexpectedly, the sprinklers triggered, drenching the sanctuarywithwater!

In a twist of events, they indeed received "rain," although not quite the rain that Sister Shubert had invoked – it was water from the fire detectionsprinklers.

Itrustthatthislightheartedanecdote has brought a smile to your day. Remember, humor abounds even within the church. So, keep laughter aliveandyoursmilesshining.

HEALING THE INNER ME: I MATTER

As we go through life, we will face challenges and struggles Our childhood helps to shape and mold us into the people we become There comes a time in our lives when we sit down and think about where we've come from and who we are today Years ago, I was at a point in my life when I realized I had accomplished many things, but I wasn't where I wanted to be When I examined my life and wondered how I made it through, I had to acknowledge that I only made it by the grace of God and that God had His hand on me every day of my life

Growing up as a light-skinned, intelligent, shy middle child, living in an urban area, and having a dream of going to college, I experienced some challenges And it did not help that I attended a predominantly white high school I had a prophetic call on my life, but as a child, I had no idea what was happening I experienced what I thought were nightmares but actually turned out to be visitations from spirits/demons (I now know that the enemy did this to try and confuse me) I also had visions and experienced what I thought was déjà vu at times I would know things but had no idea how or why I knew them

BY DANA HINES MS LADC CDVC CHTVSP

My siblings and I grew up in a loving two-parent home, but dysfunction occurred I watched my mother bear the burden of maintaining a household for her three children (Meanwhile) she attended school to obtain her GED and learned a trade while my father lived his life My mother was the strongest and most determined woman I have ever known She is my role model

It was not until I became an adult (that I) realized all my mother had been through and all she sacrificed for the sake of her children She was determined to make a good life for her children

As a light-skinned, shy, intelligent black girl, I was constantly reminded of the color of my skin by other black people outside my family and a few extended family members Because of this, I withdrew into my shell and developed coping skills to protect myself from the hurtful words directed toward me I learned to never let people know they hurt me this way; they could not use it against me I also learned the fine art of sarcasm and being brutally honest with people to make them back up I learned inappropriate coping skills, but they were skills that protected me wanted it to be, and I needed to make some changes So I decided to give my life to Christ, which was the best decision I've ever made. This decision took me on a journey of inner healing Through my relationship with God and a willingness to be honest with myself regarding my strengths and weaknesses, self-esteem, selfconfidence, and coping mechanisms, I made changes in my life I did not focus on anyone else; I just looked at who I said I was versus who I really was I realized that a light-skinned shy prophet was making the calls in my life versus the woman making the decisions This was not an easy process, but it was one I needed to embark on to be the person I wanted to be

I realized up until that point I would tell people I didn't care if you did not like me but deep down inside, I did I had to do the work on myself, and I did get to the point where it didn't bother me if people didn't like me I also had to examine other coping skills I had developed and determine if they were appropriate or inappropriate. I found some were inappropriate, but others were very appropriate I am an introvert who is comfortable in her light-skinned body, proud of all she has accomplished and loves herself I have learned that I matter and that my thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs are just as important as others predominantly white high school told me I was not college material As a young girl who wanted nothing more than to attend college and graduate, this hurt more than anything I never told anyone about the guidance counselor's words, especially my mother This information would not have been welcome news to her I never wanted to place my mother in a position where she would go to the school and tell them exactly what she thought about what they said to her black child Well, I proved that guidance counselor wrong as I hold a Bachelor's and a Master's degree, and I'm currently working on my doctorate I also have several licensures and certifications The determination I saw in my mother as she went back to school to do better for her children, propelled me forward

As women, we can nurture and love everyone else and forget to love and nurture ourselves

We tend to be strong for others but at times need someone to be strong for us simply because we are tired. We pour into others regularly but forget to allow others to pour into us As women we must understand if our tanks are empty and we have nothing to pour into anyone else, we must refuel and re-energize ourselves regularly; this requires inner healing and strength

To embrace and possess all that God has promised us requires work God is not in the habit of elevating us to a place where our character cannot sustain us We must get in the habit of openly "checking" ourselves This brings about self-care and inner healing Should a person not engage in inner healing, they will go through life with open wounds Hurting people will hurt other people

We cannot expect to be the healthiest versions of ourselves if we are hurting and continue to have open wounds Look at it in terms of a physical wound to one of our hands that is bleeding for which we never received medical attention and allow the wound to keep bleeding In that case, we leave our bloody fingerprints on every person we touch

The same is true for emotional wounds. Sometimes we don't understand why people don't want to be a part of our lives Could they be tired of us leaving our bloody hand prints on their clothes? Or they are tired from being a part of our lives, as we require a great deal of energy to deal with? We are a three-part being: body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians8:23) Because we are a tripart being, it is essential for us to understand that the body, soul, and spirit are interconnected Due to the interconnectedness of these three parts it is necessary to understand if one part is out of sync, it will affect the other two parts The soul is man's will, intellect, and emotions. Our personalities are embedded within the soul The soul is where our inner healing journey needs to take place We tend to make decisions based on our emotions, and if we are in a place where we need inner healing, our decision-making process may not be the healthiest that it can be

"We cannot expect to be the "We cannot expect to be the healthiest versions of ourselves healthiest of ourselves if we are hurting and continue if we are hurting and continue to have open wounds Look at to have open wounds Look at it in terms of a physical it in terms of a physical wound to one of our hands wound to one of our hands that is bleeding for which we that is bleeding for which we never received medical never received medical attention and allow the wound attention and allow the wound to keep bleeding In that case, to keep bleeding In that case, we leave our bloody we leave our bloody fingerprints on every person fingerprints every person we touch " we touch "

Inner healing requires emotional healing Emotional healing is where we allow ourselves to acknowledge and accept a certain amount of dysfunction taking place within us During this emotional healing process, we must remember to show empathy and compassion towards ourselves as we begin the journey of processing painful life experiences The journey of healing will not be easy as it requires us to be brutally honest with ourselves Not anyone else but ourselves, and sometimes that can be the hardest part of the journey. This journey is an individual process that every human experiences in different ways It doesn't matter if someone else has had the same experience as us What matters is how we experience that event This is why it is so important that we remember to be gentle and kind to ourselves as we embark upon the beautiful journey of self-discovery and healing

God desires for us to be whole We see this in the Bible when Jesus asked the man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5:6, do you want to be made whole God is a perfect gentleman He will never force Himself upon us; therefore, for us to be made whole, we must open ourselves up to God and allow Him to lead, guide, and direct us as we go through our lives God also desires for our souls to prosper This is evident in 3 John 1:2, where the Bible says he wants us to be in good health even as our souls grow God shows us in His Word that He wants us to be whole, healthy, and our souls to be in the best condition possible This journey will require that we hold onto God tightly because it will not be easy, but it is a process that we can all make it through if we remember that God loves us and He wants nothing but the best for us Sometimes we say we're waiting on God to do certain things, when the reality is God is waiting on us to do some things He wants to elevate us and bring us to the next level but He cannot take us to a place we are not ready for We serve a mighty God who wants us to live in the supernatural, where we witness miracles, signs, and wonders and to receive His grace and mercy daily

In a nutshell, here are the keys to inner healing Remember to be kind to yourself Know that you are not in this alone. You are on a journey with Jesus. Replace the negative recordings you maybe allowing to repeatedly play in your head that make you believe you are not important.

You do matter! I am not telling you anything, I did not have to experience myself I had to believe God when He told me He loved me and that I was valuable and that He had a work for me to do. God told me I was a Prophet, from birth, whom the enemy tried to kill as a child. There were days when believing God was very hard I always loved myself, that was never a question, but I had to learn it was okay to be my authentic self What’s so beautiful is the process of inner healing helps us to (discover) and become our authentic selves

Dana Hines is the CEO of Dana Hines Ministry Inc., a deliverance ministry that helps individuals obtain freedom from life's struggles Her ministry centers on community outreach for women and adolescents with substance abuse (SUDS), intimate partner violence (IPV), and human trafficking (HT). Dana educates business organizations on leadership regarding SUDS, IPV, and HT She is a licensed Substance Use Disorder Clinician and a Domestic Violence Advocate Counselor (CDVC). Dana sits on the Board of Directors for a local Domestic Violence Agency in Massachusetts She holds a Master's Degree in Science, and she's currently pursuing her doctorate in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Christian ministry Dana is passionate about social justice, equality,andequity