There Is Wisdom in Grandma's Hands: A Pathway for the Next Generation.

By Evangelist Karen Tongue

The bible states that it is appointed unto man once to die. Each of us will have to pass by death in order to reach the next stage of life: eternal life in heaven or hell. We have known about the existence of heaven and hell since the beginning of time. It is not the will of God for any to perish. That means though we have to die God does not want us to go to hell.

We can have an assurance of life everlasting in heaven with Christ Jesus our Lord. There are many wonderful things prepared in heaven for those of us who overcome this life and receive our great rewards in heaven for living a life unto Christ.

Many people have lost loved ones along life's way. Some of these loved ones have been gone for many years and people are still grieving and mourning over them deeply. God wants you to come to him and find health and healing in the safety of his loving arms. To receive this healing we must come to him and accept his plan of salvation.

Salvation is the beginning to healing, love, and acceptance. In Christ, we find hope and peace that surpasses all human understanding. We learn who we are and we learn who we are in Christ. I pray this book will give every reader an expected hope and the joy of the Lord for strength.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728345840

Book preview

THERE IS WISDOM

IN

GRANDMA’S HANDS

EVANGELIST KAREN TONGUE

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2020 Evangelist Karen Tongue. 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.

Published by AuthorHouse    03/26/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-4582-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-4584-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020902335

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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.

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.

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A PATHWAY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

I’m sure that I’m not the only one who wishes that Bigmama, Granny and Grandma Bernice were still here. These ladies were women who could tell you about yourself and make you smile at the same time. It hurt to hear these ladies announce that they were ready to go home to be with the Lord. Yes, our ancestors from way back when seemed to know when it was time to go up yonder. They were tired of the world. Tired of doctor’s appointments. Tired of grown children and the grandchildren who got on their nerves so bad. Loved us they did, but their mind and body were tired and weary. They were ready to receive their eternal reward. Bigmama passed away peacefully at Prince George’s Hospital in Landover, Maryland. Granny passed away at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland. Grandma Bernice passed away in Calvert Hospital in Prince Frederick, Maryland. The day Bigmama passed I was actually praying about her when I got the call she was in the hospital. I told the Lord, if it’s your will to take her, I’m ready. I know she’s tired and ready to go. I don’t want to be selfish anymore. Little did I know that seeing her laying on that hospital gurney lifeless would break my heart anyway. I thought I could handle it. My Uncle Richard always said that one never knows how they’re going to react to the passing of a loved one. So, yes, I lived in a state of shock for years. Jesus had to reset and fix me again. I now realize that there are some events in life that cause you to need fixing time and time again. How many times will Jesus have to fix one person? My answer: for as long and as many times as it takes. I know now that I’m the testimony for that one. Yes, the ones who keep falling down. That was me. The ones who need a fresh jump start. That was me. The ones who need a cheerleader in their corner until they reach a place of having mastered the art of reaching up into the power source on their own. That became me too. Reaching up to God. Reaching up into the glory of God. Finding strength. Walking in the anointing the Holy Spirit gives to those who seek Him with all their heart. Clothing can make you look good. Perfume makes you smell good. Money helps you live better and enables you to afford many things in life. However, if you want to see Jesus, if you want an anointing, if you want to do anything for the Kingdom of Heaven, you are going to have to seek Him with all your heart.

I really wish Bigmama, Granny and Grandma Bernice could read this book about our lives with them and the good times with our family. As I started to write this book, I totally had my family in mind. That includes all my family. Our family tree spreads far and wide. This tree includes the one’s with diplomas, certificates, degrees, military backgrounds and an M.D. behind their names. I wanted them to know the possibilities that might be holding them down was a choice of their own. I wanted them to know the reality that the sky’s the limit if they would just try to become all they could be. Just because you were born to a certain family it doesn’t mean you have to go without living your dreams. You can look at Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Daniel and Jesus Christ our Lord. You can go against the grain of society. Follow your dreams until it happens. The dreams that make you angry when you cannot express yourself to those who criticize who you have become. I want my family to take ownership of their potential, their desires, their fantasy of taking their goals all the way to the top. Imagine that a man who grew up on a farm would become a doctor. Imagine that a little girl who helped her grandmother kill chickens and hogs would inspire to become a minister, author, motivational speaker and songwriter. Imagine those who were drafted to serve a country in wars they didn’t start. Yes, I wanted to address my family on the issues that made others look at us as the lower class of our society. I do not accept the societal class I’m delegated to be a part of as my life’s destination. No. Our family is so much more. We had mothers and grandmothers who saw much, much more for us. So, let’s make our lives matter. Not by the color of our skin, but by the potential of our intellect and dreams. The sky is still the limit. Reach. Reach. Reach for the moon. Missing the moon only means that you still have a chance to reach the stars.

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THERE IS WISDOM IN GRANDMA’S HANDS

Welcome to a celebration of life. A personal celebration of the lives of mothers and grandmothers. They showed us how to love and to shine. These women taught many things. They grounded us in God. They gave us a foundation. Embrace this open invite to salvation, strength and courage. This book leads to comfort and healing. May God help us heal and gain the strength we need for our own personal journey.

By

Evangelist Karen Tongue

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I sincerely thank God Almighty for the love, joy and favor He has fragranced on my life. I thank Him for His only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank Him for the Holy Spirit that leads and guides me into all truth. I thank Him for the holy angels He’s given charge over me to keep me in all my ways.

I thank God for the dynamic men and women He allowed me to glean from over the years. Through these men and women, God kept me balanced as I traveled through a few religions on the way to who I am in Him now. I grew up Methodist, I chose to be Baptist, and then I found a love in Jesus in Pentecostal Holiness. God used all these experiences to speak into my life during chastisement, learning, and times of peace. He gave me an assurance of who I am according to His Holy Word.

I would run out of page trying to name everyone I’ve gleaned from so I’ll simply say: to every person, whether an apostle, prophet, seer, bishop, doctor, pastor, teacher, evangelist, missionary, deaconess, talk show host, writer or psalmist whose path I’ve crossed, no matter how brief, thank you all for being a voice in my wilderness. You are the ones who let God wake you every morning to hear from Him, so you could speak a word in season to me and others that may have grown weary in the battle (Isaiah 50:4 KJV).

I thank God for every trial, set back, disappointment, hurtful moment, or test that pushed me to know Him better and to desire more of Him. The journey has been rough, but the closer walk with Him has brought me spiritual riches far beyond the imagination.

I thank God for the father of my children whose family re-introduced me to holiness. This holiness first touched my life through Papa (Cephas) and Mama (Helen) Randall who are now in Glory. I thank God for my parents (that includes aunties, uncles and cousins) who took care of me and then released me to be what God ordained me to be: I am the preacher, teacher, author, singer, song writer, prayer warrior, prophet and seer whenever He beckons. Do you not know that God uses ordinary people to do supernatural exploits in the earth realm?

I thank God for my children, Sharnae and Michael III, who give me great joy seeing them follow hard after the Spirit of God through their service for the Kingdom. They are anointed singers and Michael is also a musician. Both know how to share a testimony and give encouragement to others going through hardships. They are not always perfect people, but they do belong to Christ and that seals them until the day of redemption. I also thank God for spiritual children. He thought enough of what He put in me to use me to lead them to Him. These are the young people whose life He let me touch through church and from my children’s journey. Indeed, there is nothing too hard for God.

I must say, Thank you God for the life of my Biggest Mama. Mildred Virginia Contee-Creek drilled so much common sense into my life. If I would have had to learn half those things the harder way, I never would have been able to learn the other half on my own. Once God helped me understand that Bigmama and my parents could only teach me what they knew, it became a time and season in my life to strive for the things they never tried to reach.

My Bigmama taught me the basics of cooking, cleaning, and grooming. She taught me to respect myself and others likewise (she did not like children acting out to get by without discipline). However, the most important thing Bigmama taught her family was the need to praise, worship, and serve the Lord. As I sit here today listening to worship music and editing this book, the day has become very insightful for me. It has become a defining moment in which I fully realize how much Bigmama’ s life has given me a stage to announce that There is Wisdom in Grandma’s Hands.

Last, but not least, I thank God for the grandest of best friends who stuck by me and my children over the years. After famine seemed to leave us needing more support, God raised up that help for us. My husband is now deceased. We could only trust that God had a plan for our lives. Our lives make me think of the book of Ruth. Naomi lost her husband and both her sons. However, though she had two daughters-in-law, only one vowed to remain with her. In doing so, Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, found her kinsman who replaced the famine they left behind by Boaz marrying Ruth. Therefore, I recommend Jesus and the word of God to anyone who’s life turns onto a difficult path. True friends are hard to come by and harder to keep. Some of those true friends are near and some are further away from me in location. Through true friendship I’ve learned that God can use every situation to get us where He wants us to be right smack in the center of His will. He’s able!!!!!

While living at Granny’s (Alice Tyler) house, now owned by others, God frequently gave me dreams with angels and about my life. In one of those dreams there were many angels. Some were close, and some were far away. Some seemed smaller and others seemed larger. Some were dressed for war and some had shepherd staff. I believe these are the angels God set over my life to help me through the journey he ordained for me. The angel who stood out for me had a crown on his head, he had white hair, and wore royal blue. He was the largest of all to me. I believe that the angels assigned to our lives are those who help us perform the tasks God assigns to us. According to Romans 12:4, God says that we are all one body, but have many members. Further, not all members have the same office (calling). So, in Christ, we are many and form one body, but each member belongs to all the others with different gifts. Those angel’s aid us in many things, and not just rescue missions. These angels give us messages from God, they warn us of danger, and many other things. Just because we don’t always see them with the physical eye, it does not mean they are not there or are not at work behind the scenes of our everyday journey. They are daily making sure we get the work done that God calls us to do.

Angels are not like people who always look for a way to get recognition. Angels on assignment from God are so loyal to God that they dare not try to take the glory from God. Satan did that and found himself out of a job and a royal home (Luke 10:18). Therefore, I pray God will keep us humble and mindful of his presence, his power, and the help he gives us to do his will.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Bigmama (Mildred V. Creek) who helped to raise me; and Granny (Alice T. Tyler) who took in my mom (Ida) and brother (Marcus) after I married her grandson (Michael Jr.—now deceased); and Grandma Bernice (Bernice Harris) who I visited often during my childhood. As Granny was one of my grandmother-in-laws, my children and I lived with her after the passing of their father. On occasion, after Bigmama stopped working, she would visit us at Granny’s house. I would take them to the store, play gospel quartet videos for them, and listen to them as they talked about me and my children as if we were not there listening to them. Grandmothers are like that.

These ladies were the Madea, Ms. Daisy and Hattie in my life. Madea is the lady who loves everybody, encourages us, but will discipline you, if she must, and kept a bite to eat in her kitchen every day. Daisy, the lady you don’t mind chauffeuring anywhere she wants or needs to go. You love her so much you don’t mind her back seat driving and giving orders. Last, but certainly not the least, Hattie is the lady that’s so full of life, love, fun, truth, wisdom, but packs a powerful punch to the disrespectful. She’ll tell you the truth about yourself, your friends, your enemies, and the people next door, but you can still call her in the middle of the night to get a prayer through. She can pray heaven down to earth in times of trouble, famine or despair. Madea and Hattie are characters created by Tyler Perry and Ms. Daisy was created by Alfred Uhry.

I’m so blessed to have known these women who fit the role of these beautiful characters. I have also met these women in other family members, friends and church acquaintances. I have two more paternal grandmothers, Maude Johnson, who I never met, and Florence Tongue, who I met briefly. There were also two step-grandmothers who have passed, Florence Blake and Adele Creek. These ladies are now deceased. These women left an awesome spiritual impact in the lives of their families. I cannot mention all the women who reared us, but I can say that the characters who I’ve mentioned are still priceless in our hearts. Therefore, I invite everyone to this celebration. It’s not just for those who touched my inner circle, but also for others to share in this joy of having known the love of a wonderful mother, grandmother, sister, aunt or cousin.

May each reader be blessed as the words of this book kindle the fond memories of The Wisdom in Grandma’s Hands so that you may now know that what she gave and taught you was for the difficult days to come. It is the job of parents, no