Everybody Feeds You: But Nobody Really Wants to Help You

By Dwight Jeffery

This book is about my journey through life. It's also about the people around me and the situations I encountered and how they generated thoughts that shaped my life. You will learn how life skills and life lessons can turn your life into a knowledge base of wisdom and understanding. It will guide you through relationships and give you illustrations and examples of to help become more effective in knowing how to reach out and help others. if your mind is negative, it is difficult to teach someone else to be positive. Every life lesson is a learning experience that can enhance personal growth and development.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Nov 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9781490798653

Dwight Jeffery

I enjoy helping and motivating others... but it can sometimes become a difficult task when people allow themselves to become victims and prisoners of those that blind their minds with deception and trickery. It has happened to all of us at one time or another. I am a student of life and I do my best to learn from mistakes and past failures.

Book preview

Copyright 2019 Dwight Jeffery.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-9864-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-9866-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-9865-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019919384

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Trafford rev. 11/23/2019

33164.png www.trafford.com

North America & international

toll-free: 1 888 232 4444 (USA & Canada)

fax: [phone]

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

EHV and Evangelical Heritage Version are registered trademarks of Wartburg Project, Inc.

The Evangelical Heritage Version is part of the Wartburg Bible series.

The EHV® text may be quoted (in written, visual, or electronic form) up to and inclusive of one thousand (1,000) verses without written permission, provided that the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for 50 percent or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Website

Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version, Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation — Second Edition. Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgment

Chapter 1 Life is Overwhelming

Chapter 2 Your Perception

Chapter 3 Who’s Hungry?

Chapter 4 Abnormal Conditions

Chapter 5 Hungry for Approval

Chapter 6 Fight to Win!

Chapter 7 Contradictions!

Chapter 8 Thinking beyond Boundaries

Chapter 9 Dare to Dream

Chapter 10 Real Generosity

Chapter 11 Seeds of Inspiration

Chapter 12 Empower People

Chapter 13 Freedom of Self-Expression

Chapter 14 Pass the Peas!

Chapter 15 A Wise Man

Chapter 16 Will Work for Food!

Chapter 17 Crabs in the Bucket

Chapter 18 Choosing Your Destiny

Chapter 19 People Need Help!

Chapter 20 A Warm Fuzzy

Chapter 21 Fattening for Slaughter

Chapter 22 Burning Bridges

Chapter 23 A Defining Moment

Chapter 24 Bread from Heaven

Chapter 25 Feed Yourself!

Chapter 26 Follow the Cloud, Not the Crowd

Chapter 27 Keeping It Real

Chapter 28 Golden Apples

Chapter 29 Food for Thought

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to thank my daughter, Angelina, who told me that the greatest motivator who has ever taught at school is my daddy. I am thankful for her support and I love her dearly.

I would like to thank my daughter, Ginger, for her support and belief in me. I am thankful for her encouragement and I love her dearly.

And to my wife, Katheryn, for whom words will never be enough to express my gratitude for the appreciation and support that I’ve received. She is the love of my life and my best friend, who possesses my heart and love forevermore.

CHAPTER 1

Life is Overwhelming

They teach you everything in school except how to survive the ups and downs of life. Society tells us that an education is all you need to be successful, but we are constantly bombarded with examples of people saying, If I can make it, anyone can make it! But when reality shows up and reveals to us that the odds are against us, we know that someone has overexaggerated. They tell us that life is easy. It feels like something is always missing in the story. There are important details that have intentionally been left out in order to mislead us. Someone has patted themselves on the back and said Look at me, I’m a genius when, in fact, that may be the furthest thing from the truth.

We can take tragedies and use them for inspiration. We can overcome the odds, but things aren’t always as easy as we are led to believe when tragedy strikes. We are forced to endure hardships that can practically destroy our lives. For instance, when my wife and I lost our jobs and it seemed as though all hell had broken loose, we lost everything. It was the worst time of my life. But we were thankful when a pastor and his wife stepped in to help us. They took everything to a nearby storage facility, and he paid for everything himself. We offered them money, but they refused to take a dime from us. Until this day, I will always be grateful for the kindness and good deeds of the people that God placed in our life to help us at a time of need. All it takes is an act of kindness to give someone hope.

Scripture: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32 ESV)

No one wants to impose on others, especially family and friends, but sometimes, we get caught in situations that put us in those kinds of predicaments. The thing that no one talks about is how to mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually prepare for the worst disaster of your life. No one really talks about the war zone and the devastation of homelessness. The best way I can describe it is to say homelessness is like being trapped in a jungle with deadly, poisonous creatures all around you and trying to escape; but there’s nowhere for you to go but through a desert that’s hot, very unpleasant, has deadly creatures, and has quicksand in your path. There is no end in sight. There’s no relief for pain. There’s no relief from proper rest and nutrition. You are forced to keep moving. Everyone hates you and treats you really bad. You are considered the lowest of any animal or human on the planet. You are fed and then spit on by everyone who feels they are higher than you.

Scripture: The poor is hated even of his own neighbor: but the rich hath many friends. (Proverbs 14:20 KJV)

Life can be tough even when you are trying to do good deeds. No one knows what people go through when the doors of opportunity are slammed in your face. Rejection can be a silent killer. It can affect your character, your family, and your life.

I never thought about or entertained the idea of becoming an educator. My focus was not on children. My parents and grandparents loved children. As a child growing up, my mother and grandmother always had children coming to our home. Some of the children visiting us were the neighbors’ children, relatives, and friends of the family. My folks would care for babies, toddlers, and teens. They loved and enjoyed helping people with their children.

During the time I was attending college, my grandmother told me that I was great with kids and that I should think about becoming an educator. I said, No, Grandmother, I’m not interested in teaching or dealing with bad kids. I thought that my grandmother had missed it and that she was totally wrong, but what I did not know was that she was on point. Grandmother was right, and I was wrong.

There are lots of people who go through life confused, trying to figure out what they really want to do. Some of them feel depressed and overwhelmed because they do not have direction and purpose. A close friend got my wife a job in education, and the people who hired my wife became interested in me and offered me a position in education also. It’s difficult to explain, but when you experience for yourself a discovery of something in you that you never knew existed, then all of a sudden, your light is turned on. You’re like a kid with a new toy who is happier about a dream that came true. Well, all I can say is that I fell in love with teaching and I also discovered gifts within me that changed my world. I was blessed with the ability to motivate and inspire students. I was amazed at what I had discovered within myself. I discovered a well of untapped potential. A burning desire and a passion with purpose created a zeal within me that I never knew existed. For the first time in my life, I became motivated and goal-directed with a focus centered on the youth. But it all came to a halt. All of a sudden, I was terminated from my job because someone became jealous of my success in the classroom.

I was thrilled from the excitement of students coming to my classroom and saying that they were motivated to pursue career goals, but unfortunately, someone lied on me and said that I was pretending to be an author and misleading the students. This was the furthest thing from the truth. The truth finally came out, but it was too late to save my job. I lost in court because the decision was based on the fact that I was considered an at-will employee. I lost my case in court because of the ruling that stated I was an at-will employee, which meant that I signed a contract that specified I could be terminated with or without cause at any time. This was a very difficult time for