As a classroom teacher in the public schools, I know first hand how many different things there are to capture the attention of our youth. The internet, video games, the TV, MP3 players, the radio and movies, just to name a few, rob our children of time which would be better spent doing homework. Too often children are not turned on to their homework because of these distractions. As parents we must continue to set high expectations for our children and monitor their daily activities and their school work. When left unattended their youthful minds become idol. This gives children time to want for worldly pleasures. When children give so much of their time to impressing their peers, then grades and behavior begin to fall at school. In order for our children to be successful in all things they must be obedient to their parents as well as to the word of God. The word must become apart of everything that our children do. They must know that Jesus is the answer. That he is the anchor. And even though Christ has been taken out of the schools, it will be the light from our youth that brings him back. The youth of The True Church will walk, talk, and act differently from their peers so that anyone that comes in contact with them will recognize their light. It is possible for our youth to be saved and get an education at the same time. I know there will be times when things seem very difficult at school. If our children would simply hold on to the teachings that they receive at The True Church of God in Christ, I know they will be blessed.

The word of God has had and is still having a major impact on my life. I can definitely see the effects of the gospel on my life while being away at school.  I am currently a senior at the University of Georgia and while there, I feel that I have set a high standard for other students to follow.  There are so many carnal activities and behaviors that I could have participated in, but the word of God has prevented me from doing what is "popular" and helping me to do what is right, even if it means standing alone.  Although, I know that I'm not alone because the Bible clearly states that if God is for us, He is MORE than the whole world against us.   Since I have adhered to the teachings of Bishop Lawson, the elders, and the ministers, I can proudly say that I am still a virgin, I have never tasted any alcoholic beverage, never been to a party, or visited any club.  I know that it is the word of God that has kept and continues to keep me from doing these things.  However, I cannot take the credit for anything; it is God's grace and mercy that has allowed me to keep myself  and be a pattern that other females can follow.  I pray that I continue to be successful throughout life and that I always know that all good things come from God.

I would first like to honor and recognize God. I thank him for his mercy and kindness and for what he is to me, as I strive to be what I’m suppose to be to him. I thank him for the wonderful leaders he has set in charge of The True Church of God in Christ.  I’m abundantly blessed to be apart of such a glorious church family.  I am also grateful for my husband and the natural and spiritual relationship we have together. A relationship that allows us to dwell in peace with one another daily.  Through ten years of marriage we have learned how to please one another, to laugh together when we’ve wanted to cry all of which comes from the teaching of the word of God.

 I’ve been a part of the True Church my entire life, and although I haven’t always obeyed the teaching it was embedded in my heart. Assuredly, with disobedience comes suffering. Once I made the decision not to follow instruction I chose to unnecessarily suffer and not for the name of Christ.  I was given ample opportunity for educational success but instead misused a lot of time and teaching. Although now I have a great support system through family and friends things are a lot more difficult this time around.  Instead of  only working and going to school, at the end of my day I have to first be a wife to my husband a mother to my children and then with what’s left a student for myself.  Out of all my foolishness God still saw fit to have mercy.  God has granted me a second chance and I strive foremost for spiritual victory. I believe with determination I will reach my goals both in the house of the Lord and in the classroom.  God is so good and I’m thankful for each and every opportunity he has given me.

 The True Church has been such a blessing in my life.  Though all of my test and all of my trials my desire is to press forward daily, in order to be the saint God has called for.

As a young black Christian man, I believe education is extremely important and there is no other way to overcome the circumstances of today's society. One factor I've kept with me was to stay focus. I understood early on in my life to keep positive aspiration and influences around me. I was strong because I had values, disciplines and most of all I had Jesus on my side and as my guidance. Having a good education and being successful was very important to me. Completing college has now given me the opportunity to excel beyond matters in my life. It has open doors for my family, and it has given me hope. Now, I am truly worthy and strengthen by God’s grace and mercy.

Jesus is my friend, my keeper and my strength. During my transitions in life, and as I was pursing my education God was there for me. Without Him I would not have made it through the challenges I encountered in college. I was able to move forward by meditating on all of the good things God has blessed me with. I was determined to complete my education.
It was a challenge to balance education, having a family, and living a sanctified life. However, God has blessed me, and has pulled me through. I had a wife who believed as I did. She was very supportive and understanding. Together, we were more than conquerors because we both had God in our lives. I had a friend (my wife), who was there for me the entire time I was in college. We both made it through, and it was well worth it. Now, it is my determination to stay positive and to keep God in my life. I know God is my salvation and strength, so I continue to depend on him. I cried and almost gave up during college, but I understood in my heart that God was not going to let me down, and I thank God for it all.

First, I would like to give honor to God who is my Lord and Savior.  Next, I would like to give honor to my pastor and to my husband, Brother Marc Taylor. At a young age I wanted to be saved.  Being rooted and grounded in a Christian family was truly a blessing to me.  My parents both attended church and raised me up in the nurture and admonishing of the Lord.  Growing up, I was really inquisitive about this word called “salvation”.  I began to read my bible, ask questions, and listen more in church. I joined the church later than some of my siblings because I really wanted to know what church was really about.  Around the age of 15 years old, I joined Henderson Temple.  At that time, Bishop Lucas was bringing forth the word every week.  He really enlightened me and planted the seed in me.  As I grew older, others help cultivate and “water” me through the word including Elder Robinson and Elder Taylor.

At the age of 18 years old, I decided to attend college.  My plan was to complete my education, get married, and obtain a job.  God has truly blessed me.  He has given me my heart’s desire and so much more.  If it was not for the special people in my life growing up, my “light” would not be what it is today.  The True Church of God in Christ provided that light to me prior to entering college.  I wanted to shine more and more for God away from home. In college, I surrounded myself with positive people and mentors.  While at school, I listened to gospel music and our pastor’s sermons.  Whenever I came home, I attended church.  By doing this, I believe my spirit and mind were filled spiritually.  
Now, at the age of 31, I can truly say that salvation and education can be achievable.  I encourage every young person to dream big and set goals both spiritually and naturally.  By putting God first in my life, God ordered my steps. He led me to my husband and kept me through college.  Today, I am blessed to have been working on my job for about 8 years, married 7 years, and have two wonderful children.  God’s word has never failed me.  Salvation and education truly have been a blessing in my life.

I thank God for life, health, strength and a very supportive family.  God has truly blessed me with the desires of my heart.  The one that gives me such satisfaction is being able to further my education after being out of school for about twenty two years and graduate at the top of my class.  The struggles I went through really made me wish that I would have gotten what I needed before I got married and started a family.  I would encourage all young people to seek God and your education first.  When you get the opportunity to go to college, go there with a positive attitude.  That's what really helped me make it.  I wanted nothing less than an A in all of my classes.  I had to really study hard and stay on top of every thing.  That included taking care of my husband and helping my children with their homework.  My husband had a part-time job that kept him away from the house until different hours of the night, which meant that I had to do almost everything concerning the children getting their homework done.  I also wanted to stay active in the church, so that meant some Wednesday nights I had to put my homework in the car and work on it before Bible Class or on Sundays, (after Sunday services) since we stayed at church all day on Sunday.  The Lord had mercy on me and blessed me for not putting him to the side to get my education.  I wanted both, so I managed my time where I did not have to neglect either one. For that, God has truly blessed me.  I have a wonderful job where I get rave reviews and the opportunity to advance to a better position.  I've only worked there permanent for a year and have gotten two raises already, the second one being a ten percent raise.  My supervisor told me that I would be getting another five percent raise in January.  I know the Lord is blessing me for being obedient to his word, which I encourage every one to do.  When you do what God tells you to do, he certainly will bless you to the point where you feel like you don't really deserve it.  I thank him to this day for blessing me with the job that I have.  Sometimes I tell myself that only God could do what he's done for me since I don't have a degree in Accounting and is still  being blessed like I am. If you obey God, he will open up the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing you won't have room to receive.  I am a witness.
May God bless you.

Samuel: You know that GOD has brought me from a mighty long way. I remember at one point I had no desire to come to church. I thank GOD that you and my mother continued telling me how important it was to come to church and to pray.
La'Keisha: Well, I thank GOD for you too, Samuel and how you have been a great inspiration and friend to me. I can clearly remember when you had no desire to come to church, but was still devoted to being a great example to so many people.
Samuel: Well, I believe that is through my upbringing in the church. Although, I was not trying to live right at the time, my parents instilled this strong teaching in me as a child and it carried over into the world with me.  The WORD always gave me a conscience that kept me from getting too far out there, and furthermore he allowed me to have a Mother that raised me well and a dear friend that kept me on a straight path.
La'Keisha: It had to be the upbringing because my parents, who raised me and my siblings in the True Church, as well taught me how to carry myself as a young lady and the importance of getting an education, along with salvation. College was very difficult for me, but with the Lord, prayer, you and my parents, I was able to graduate and work in my field of studies, working with Special Needs children and their families. I am very blessed.
Samuel:  Oh yea, I remember your desire to want to give up sometimes but you made it through.
La’Keisha:  I recall how every summer I did not want to go back to college to begin another semester, but through hard prayer, faith and encouraging words, I was able to do it! I did and I thank GOD so much for that. Through the teaching of Bishop Lucas and Bishop Lawson, and now Elder Jeffries, I was able to make it through understanding that we all have to go through tribulations, but the Lord is in control.
Samuel: So we both grew up in the church, and here we are about to get married. The most beautiful thing about our relationship though is that we have been the best of friends for a little over 10 years.
La'Keisha: Yes. Best friends that were able to get to know each other by talking and being friends first. I think it's a blessing that our parents were brought up together and that our families know one another well. Samuel, do you believe that we would have been able to make it through college and be where we are now, if we weren't good friends first and knew the teaching?
Samuel:  Not at all. I would probably either be out there on drugs, not focused, or caught up with children. We could be another statistic, a black man with no education, no job, and just selling drugs in the street. Or I could be dead. GOD has kept his loving arms around us.
La'Keisha: You are right. I could have also dropped out of school and had children before getting married, but GOD was with us. 
Samuel: I tell you one thing...since being back in the church I am not ashamed of this gospel.
La'Keisha: Me either. It was hard for me to understand some things after the things happened in the past, but you never gave up on me. It was my decision to come back to the truth and I feel that GOD led me exactly where I needed to be. There is no need for anyone to be shame of the truth.

I truly count it a blessing to be able to give my testimony. I want to give honor to God, to my wonderful husband, and to all who are due honor. I feel so blessed to have found the truth in 1994 at Lucas Temple. I have always valued education but once I learned how to make it with the Lord, I was able to add salvation to my education. Before I was married I obtained my Associate’s Degree in Accounting and I was able to help in the home. About two years later, I obtained my real estate license. I was able to supplement my income and later focus on real estate totally and have time to care for my mother during her illness. Later, I obtained my National Certification in Insurance Coding in hopes of working from home should I become a mother. My ultimate goal was to become a registered nurse. Until the time was right, I obtained my certification as a nursing assistant and did home healthcare and was able to gain healthcare experience and prepare for nursing school. The Lord blessed me to be accepted to nursing school and I graduated in December 2007 with my Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. Along the way the Lord opened so many doors and blessed me with numerous Scholarships and honors. I know none of my accomplishments would have been possible without the Lord. He blessed me with a wonderful and supportive husband to walk with me through this life and my educational journey.  I plan to encourage my own children to take advantage of the educational opportunities available and most of all obtain salvation. My husband and I both plan on being examples for our children.
Nursing school was one of the most challenging educational experiences for me thus far. But, another benefit of being a member of the True Church is that the saints offer you encouragement when you need it. There were many times when the saints would offer me words of encouragement exactly when I needed it. I feel so blessed to have the Lord on my side, a wonderful husband and the saints to support me in my salvation and my education.  The Lord has allowed me to obtain education in many different areas and with the education I also gained valuable experience. In each instance I was able to grow in the Lord and be a light wherever the Lord allowed me to go. I am thankful for that because I know it comes through the word of God. With all that the Lord has allowed me to accomplish I want to continue to remain humble. Although I can write my name as Aretha Hutchinson, BSN, RN, CNA, NCICS—I feel the most honor being called Sister Aretha Hutchinson, member of the True Church of God In Christ.

I can testify that salvation alone is a sweet blessing from God and salvation with education only sweetened my blessing by allowing me to see the benefits of spiritual and natural wisdom and understanding.  Salvation keeps me humbled through my ever-learning experiences of God’s powerful manifestation of his grace and mercy.  While education can help me to combat some of the challenges of this world, Salvation maintains my victory over the enemy no matter what the challenge.  I have learned early that God’s word cannot be compromised with unrighteousness or hypocrisy. Jesus has been a true and living God to me.  To converse with his saints is like breathing in the fruit of the spirit. It’s like they see right through me and speak to the depths of my soul. . . . What a blessing!

Stay encouraged beloved. Press on and know that true salvation allows me to live forever, but my education can only benefit me in this world and not to come.

I honor God who is the creator of all things. I honor him for his goodness and mercy.  Without him I do not know what I would do.   He has opened so many doors for me.  When I finished high school in 1974, I had several college scholarship offers, but I decided to join the military because I really did not want to go to college.  The military helped me understand the difference that an education could make in my life.  The person with an education always appeared to have the easier job and was giving orders.  They never had to pick up paper or cigarette butts.

Upon my return home from the service, Bishop Lucas kept expressing that education along with salvation would make life easier.  Although I had a wife with two children, I enrolled in college with a strong desire to obtain a college degree.  I often thought of the scripture concerning God’s ability to bring things back to our memory. In order to bring something back to your memory,  you must first have had knowledge of it.  This meant studying was my responsibility to ensure that God would do what he said “bring it back to my memory”.   With that in mind,  I was able to go through college really never worrying whether I would pass or fail a class.  I knew God never lies so if there was any short comings I knew it was in me.

Now I see education as a building process; elementary lays the foundation for high school and high school lays the foundation for college.  If you fail to obtain the knowledge at either stage you make the road a little tougher for yourself.   I know that God desires the best for us, but we have to do our part.  I am reminded of the scripture “…Yes, a man say, I have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without thy works and I will show you my faith by my works.”    Then we must be willing to use the skills and gifts that God blesses us with to his will and glory. I can say that the road was tough and sometimes it seemed that I should just give up. With prayer, trusting and believing in the gospel over time I was awarded an Associate Degree in electronic and a Bachelor degree in Computer Engineer.