Temporary Power Outages

By Sandra Lott

When we think of the word temporary, we think of momentary, just for a season, not lasting forever, or just for a little while. God allows situations, things and people in our lives, to have a temporary status because He knows what's best for us. No one wants to hurt physically or emotionally for a long period of time. God was gracious enough to provide us with the term, temporary. He said, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Temporary Power Outages, shows how people of God still have trials, tribulations, and obstacles in our life, but glory to God, we can be overcomers. So many people feel that being a Christian means your troubles are over. Some people even feel that they are unworthy of God's love and His blessings. Meanwhile, there are others who feel that since they are saved, they have everything in the bag. The author of this book struggled with her identity early in childhood and continued to struggle throughout part of her adult life. Only God knew how she felt about life and how disappointing it was at times. The author shares her many encounters with God throughout her life and how He kept her from Satan's snares. She wants the world to know that it really is not about us, but about God and the sacrifice He made by giving His only Son for our sins.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 3, 2010
• ISBN: 9781449054465

Sandra Lott

Sandra Lott was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, with one sister and two brothers. Sandra loves the mountains, making candles, and jewelry. She is the author of Jeremy's Journey, Deep Waters Within, A Princess in Waiting, Ride the Wind, and more. She has also written children's such as, The Wind Has a Voice and How Did He Get in There, Molly's Journey to Forgiveness, and more. She has written over 34 books to date and began writing poetry as soon as she was saved in June 1998. The Lord gave her, her first book to write right after her son was killed. Writing was not something she sought out. She poured her heart into time spent with the Lord in order to allow Him to heal her heart and the name of her first book was birthed in her spirit along with the chapters and what it was to be about during a devotion time. It was called: God's Love; ironically enough, with all that she was going through, God's love was exactly what she needed. She is passionate about studying the Bible. She has taught Sunday school, and Bible Study Groups, and has been actively serving in her present church, served in the Celebrate Recovery Ministry, and Homeless Outreach. Sandra was also interviewed on radio shows such as Golden Life Living and WMAP Radio (World's Most Amazing People based out of New York), the Bill Martinez show and a Fox Radio show called the Kim Kennedy Show. She is a devoted mother of 2 sons (Tim & Gerald Ray), Gerald Ray the youngest, has gone on to be with the Lord due to a car accident. Through the death of her youngest son at the age of 16, a rocky marriage to an alcoholic and the abuse that came with that, and other overwhelming trials, she has drawn close to the loving arms of the Father. Experiencing God's unconditional love as He held her heart in His hands, has created a passion in her to help others grow in their understanding of and receive God's love and grow spiritually. She has the heart to help hurting women discover the princess in Christ that they truly are and overcome abuse. She teaches on topics to help you reach spiritual maturity, persevere through the hard times, and how to reach your destiny in Christ!

Book preview

Temporary Power Outages

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2009 Sandra Lott, RN, MSN. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 12/14/2009

ISBN: 978-1-4490-5444-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4490-5445-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4490-5446-5 (e)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009913633

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Temporary Power Outages

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank God for giving me life. Even when I didn’t have sense enough to appreciate life and didn’t want to live, God kept me. He has been my comforter and my guide. Without Him, I could not exist. He is my rock and my fortress and all praises and glory belong to Him.

Secondly, I would like to thank my parents (Classie Ward and Clarence Jefferson) for my being here. I would not be who I am if I had not inherited a little of my mother and a little of my father. I really want to thank my mother for giving birth to me even though it changed her life forever. You could have aborted me, but I am so glad you didn’t. I thank her for the struggles she endured just to make sure I had the things I needed. I thank my father for being a good listener and not being quick to judge. This book was not written to put emphasis on any of your short comings or any of your long goings. It was written only to show how God pulled me out of the depth of depression, anxiety, frustration, anger, and isolation.

I am grateful for my husband, Edward Lott, and my children, Kary and Mercedes Lott for being supportive during the times I was in school. I also appreciate them being supportive of this book. They have always been there!

I am so, so grateful for my grandparents (Clarence and Lucille Peterson) who immediately took me as one of their own. They took care of me when I didn’t even know who I was. They provided for me and taught me so many life lessons. I will never forget either one of them.

I appreciate my stepparents being patient with me. I know I was probably difficult and maybe even a little resistant at times. However, you all continued to care for me in spite of myself: Arthur McAllister, Betty Jefferson, and Billy Ward.

I would like to thank Pastor and Sister Dorothy Milton for encouraging me and supporting me in the midst of my storms. If Pastor Milton had not given me some responsibilities at the church, I probably would have continued to be a bench warmer on Sundays. If Sister Milton had not continued to call me on Sunday mornings for prayer, I might still be sitting at home on Sunday mornings or driving all the way to Ludlow, MS to go to church.

I would like to thank all of the spiritual parents that God gave me when I needed encouraging the most: Lizzie and Eddie Thames, Dora and Robert Glaspie, Daree and Willie Wilson, Pat and Chris Peterson, Ralph and Henrietta Peterson, William and Sevetrus Peterson, Jessie Mae Kincaid, Mrs. Christine Wardell, Pastor and Sis. Sadie Taylor, Edna and Bernard Clay, Barbara and Odell Magee, Patricia Kyles, Mrs. Lashley, Mrs. Liz Willis, Mrs. Carolyn Lassiter, Connie and Sam Winters, Pastor and Mrs. James Floyd, Dorothy Reece (Dot), Mrs. Bernice Barnes, William (Bud) and Glenn Douglas, and Mrs. Louise McAllister

A warm thanks goes to my sister, Felesia McAllister. I appreciate you being there for me and my girls. We have had our differences but God has done a new thing with our relationship. I am also very thankful for my other siblings: Sharon Harvey, Chris and Sonya Jefferson, Patrick and Deborah Durr, Andrea Burton, Jeff and Jenny Jefferson, Latonya Webb, and Mike Spann.

A warm thanks goes out to Alice Faye for always being there for my girls. I also appreciate Annie Pearl, Edna, and Woodie for all of the support you all have provided over the years as well. You all have made major contributions to our lives.

I thank all of my family & friends who have been so supportive and encouraging: Rose Hill Church Family, Chandra Gayden, Linda Holloway, MyMy McGee, Pam Helms., Audwin Fletcher, Barbara Boss, Joyce Brewer, Tracy Bass, Linda Brewer, Debbie Anderson, Brenda Gilliam, Carolyn Small, Mary Edwards, Lance Jones, Natalie Keyes, Annika Wade, Georgia Welch, Debbie Dunlap, Dr. Kumar, Chandra Boston, Sandra Wilson, Jeannie Ross, Bertha Johnson, Jaqueline Tripp, Judy Young, Pat and Willie Willis, Pastor and Sis. John Willis, D.O.C.F.C. Church Family, Brother George and Sister Teresa Bowen, Wallace and Odessa Willis, Clara and Charles Taylor, Priscilla Tommy Horton, Mrs. Louise Robinson, Heather Thompson, Chasity McCoy, Tonya Moore, Priscilla Barnes, Penney Brown, Medric Smith, Tomeka Sampson, Kristi Chambley, Linda Bonham, Terri DeLoach, Alexandria James, Laurie Albright, Erica Brown, Glenda Phillips, Mary Dukes, and Sonya Griffin. I have so many people in my life until I am sure that I may not have mentioned someone’s name. However, you are all appreciated.

I am thankful for the additional children God has given me over the years. They are Terrence P., Kaci S., Kalandra W., Maggie W., Bobby W., L.C., Jasmine W., Chanda R., Gregory R., Chaneka R., Jasmine D., Tiffany J., Amanda G., Bridgette M., and Jamie M.

Foreword

Sandra Lott is one of the most loving, caring, giving, and intelligent people I know. I have pastored her for the last eighteen years. I have watched her grow and mature in the word of God.

I know this book, Temporary Power Outages, will present a clear and uncompromising message of the Gospel, which will result in a great number of people coming to know Christ as their Savior. Not only will people come to know Christ as their Savior, but people that have already accepted Christ will be encouraged and inspired through this book.

I am deeply impressed with her obedience to God to write this book. She writes this book to show God’s wonderful and magnificent works in her life. I know this book will show love for our fellowman, minister to the lonely, depressed, and to the guilty. This book will also help us have the victory in our Christian living. I am deeply grateful for the support she gives me and my family.

Pastor Arthur Milton,

Pastor of Rose Hill M.B. Church

Mendenhall, MS

Introduction

Today, I sit at my desk with a broken heart, and a broken spirit, but I know that God still has me in mind. I still rejoice in the Lord because I know that these feelings are temporary. The title of my book is very personal to me, not only because God gave me this title, but, also, because I’ve had so many power outages in my life. Fortunately, these power outages were and will always be temporary. There have been so many instances when I felt weak and powerless. There have even been times when I had to pray for the energy just to get out of the bed.

Some people think of power as electricity or energy. Power could be either, but these things are not in and of themselves. All power comes from God. We are all open channels of energy. God created us that way. Hallelujah! Our heart beats occur via an electrical conduction system. Our heart not only possesses electrical energy, it is a major organ that is essential for life. Our heart also displays our personalities and our feelings. The heart can cause us to commit acts of love, but can also cause us to commit acts of hate. Our brain also operates via electrical conductivity. Our brain sends signals throughout the body, giving instructions to other parts of the body. However, God is our only power source. As long as we stay plugged in to our Heavenly Father, our light will always shine and our power will always be great.

I have known for quite a while that God wanted me to write this book, but I kept running from the idea. I kept putting other things before this book. I came to a crossroad in my life and realized that when God instructs you to do something, you must do it! I am reminded of a sermon my pastor did entitled, You Can Run But You Can’t Get Away. His message was taken from Jonah 1:1-3. In his message, he talked about how Jonah was instructed to go to Nineveh but did not go. He explained how everything went downhill for Jonah after he disobeyed God. He said Jonah went down and got a ticket, went down to the ship and got on, went down in the water, and went down in the belly of the fish. He explained how the storm came and the people on the ship were in danger because Jonah was on the ship. I could see myself so clearly in this message. I have had storm after storm because I have been running from God’s instructions.

My family had to endure these storms with me because of my disobedience. The only difference between me and Jonah is that I am not on a ship. Although, at times, there were so many waves, currents, and bumps in my life, until I felt like I was on a ship. After three major failures in my life, I realized that I could no longer do things in the way that I would order them. God is a God of order. When we do things out of God’s order, we will fail!

I have not shared my calling to write this book with many people because a lot of people would not understand. Most people look at you kind of strange when you say that God has told you to do something. They look at you as though they are saying, What makes you think you’re so special and that God is talking to you? As God’s children, we should be able to recognize His voice. He has given us discernment so that we can recognize the enemy as well. This book is written with no intent to make my parents, other relatives, or friends feel bad. This book is written only to show God’s wonderful and magnificent works in my life. I write this book with God, about God, and I dedicate this book to God. He has done such marvelous things in my life. O sing unto the Lord a new song; for He hath done marvelous things: His right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten Him the victory (Psalms 98:1).

Chapter 1

My life has not been much different from many people’s lives. I’ve had some ups and I’ve had some downs. However, when I recognized that God was the source of my strength, life didn’t look quite so bad. We must recognize that He has the power to bring us out of any situation, if we only trust Him. I became acquainted with God at an early age. I know that God’s grace has been on my life all of my life. You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God who sanctifies you. (Leviticus 20:7-8).

My childhood was not all bad, but like most people, if I could have changed some things, I would have. I was born to a very frightened, teenage, unwed, mother. My father was still in Mississippi at the time, but had been told not to come around anymore by my grandfather. I have questioned myself, Why would my grandfather not want my father to come to visit? I have never been given any information that would make me feel that my parents were actually in love. I continue to question whether the event was consensual. I have heard two different stories about how I came to exist. Therefore, only my parents know what really happened. was told by a relative that my mother had a very difficult time dealing with the pregnancy and my birth. Shortly after I was born, she went to Detroit, MI and stayed with her brother for a while. I shiver to think about what my mother may have experienced with the pregnancy. Therefore, some people would say that my conception was my first power outage. I was a child conceived out of wedlock, but not out of love.

I remember living with my grandparents, who I thought were my parents, and aunts and uncles who I actually thought were my sisters and brothers. I remember that when I was three years old, my grandparents built another home. I also remember us moving into the new home. I also remember being afraid of everything. I had listened to my grandparents talking about people throwing gas bombs in the windows of the old house and how there were still some members of the Klan trying to terrorize them. Needless to say, I also had