{"id":2436,"date":"2024-06-25T03:45:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T07:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/?p=2436"},"modified":"2024-06-25T06:28:47","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T10:28:47","slug":"willias-storehouse-for-gods-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2024\/06\/25\/willias-storehouse-for-gods-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Willia\u2019s Storehouse for God\u2019s children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Scripture of the Day: Proverbs 11:23-26<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday past I was blessed to be able to assist in Children\u2019s Church. God allowed me the opportunity to teach, learn, and grow with beautiful young people. There were many familiar faces, but one bright star stood out, her name was Abigail. Although Abigail was the youngest member in Children\u2019s Church she had the wisdom and heart that definitely superseded her in years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson was entitled \u201cTo Be Blessed.\u201d It was the introduction to The Beatitudes. You can find The Beatitudes in the Book of Matthew chapter 5:1-12. Some little ones were familiar with a few of The Beatitudes but others had learned it for the first time. It truly was a remarkable lesson and it is a true privilege to learn alongside these young people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I was studying and preparing to teach the lesson I stumbled upon a section in the instructor guide that took me back to my childhood. I saw words that stood out like: oppressive system, God\u2019s kingdom, and hoarding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith and Jasmine call me a hoarder all the time and I was always in denial until maybe a year ago. I never knew it was \u201cthat bad\u201d until I got to a point I would got overwhelmed it was time to clean up or find space to put stuff up. Truth be told, I never knew it was \u201cthat bad\u201d, because it looked like home! God rest their souls but Ralph & Willia knew they could collect a WHOLE HEEP of stuff. Tal once said my dad lived like the father and son on Sanford and Son, unbeknownst to me, I didn\u2019t see the problem! <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every Saturday morning when my dad was able to, he would go to the flea market. More times than none my mom would say, \u201cNow Ralph why you keep bringing all that junk here, we already have enough junk outside.\u201d You see my dad was the type of man that would start a project and two weeks later start two other projects and the first one might have gotten finished- or not! Then there was Willia! Now that little lady know she was the Queen of bargain shopping. I mean she got deals on EVERYTHING!!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up everyone knew they could come to the Davis residence if you were in need. Hungry, come on over! Needed to borrow a power tool, come on over! Needed a Bible, come on over! Needed a lawn mover or garden tool, come on over! Needed some clothes, come on over! Need some soap or other toiletries or personal items, come on over! And Lord don\u2019t need some laundry detergent, dish soap, Comet, or bleach\u2026we had you covered! (I mean can you imagine my mom couponing on top of being a bargain shopper, we could have had our own outlet). <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I read and re-read the lesson for Sunday I saw how people back in Jesus\u2019 day would do all they could to collect money, land, and honor and how they would hoard <\/strong>and oppress <\/strong>their neighbors or other people to cause them to be more poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are few places in the Bible that talk about the word hoarding and it is usually associated in a negative way. But then there is Willia Davis! <\/em><\/strong>My mom was the type of woman when she went in Goodwill she knew Eva was a size 4, Marlene was a 0, Mariam was a this, Ojetta was that, and the list goes on! She would go on senior days and dollar days and you bet your last dollar she had a buggy plus more full of clothes for her girls at New St. Thomas. And don\u2019t let her find something with tags on it or Anne Taylor, Talbots, Gap\u2026because it was more for Melissa, Meg, Pam, Mrs. Teeny, Mrs. Hamilton, Mrs. Rembert or Fran. I mean this woman did not discriminate. She would shop for the men, children, and your dog if she knew his or her size! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone who didn\u2019t know my mom would call her a hoarder but my mother was no hoarder, she had God\u2019s storehouse in her home and in her heart. <\/em><\/strong>She went from the Cloth\u2019s Closet, Store of Hope, Sharing God\u2019s love, Transitions, the women\u2019s shelter, NST, and even on the street with perfect strangers. She would help any and everyone if she had it. And if she didn\u2019t have it she wrote down your size and made sure she had it the next time she saw you. She was a true giver. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were times bills were late or unpaid but she still gave. Some folks would think if she would just stay out the store she would have so much money but my mom didn\u2019t care about money. She always said, \u201cGod blessed me to be a blessing to others.\u201d That\u2019s how she taught my brother and I. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we were little a lot of people called us poor and picked at us because we didn\u2019t have name brand stuff. I promised when I was old enough I would work and never get picked at again. And so I did, I got my first \u201cjob\u201d at the age of 12 and have been working ever since. But no matter how much money we had or didn\u2019t have, I never felt poor. I was truly happy. I never knew a day when we went hungry, we might have had to eat what we didn\u2019t want, but my parents made sure we had a hot meal every night. Even when our power was out (not sure if the bill was left unpaid or what) but my dad would get the kerosene heater and a pot and cook our dinner on it with candles lit all around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To man we were poor but according to my studying over the weekend, we were blessed! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so when I became an adult and had kids of my own it\u2019s like history repeated itself. I\u2019ll never forget one of my son\u2019s childhood friends picked at Micah because he had light up shoes. Micah was probably in the 2nd or 3rd grade so I thought it was age appropriate right?! I guess not. Even in 2nd\/3rd grade you were picked at if you didn\u2019t rock the latest Nike or Jordans. I\u2019ll never forget feeling like a failure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rico and I worked hard to make sure no one would ever pick at our boys again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At some point it went from having enough to just being greedy. The teaching and memories of Willia\u2019s storehouse to help others that I grew to admire (even though I was younger and spiritually ignorant I couldn\u2019t understand) had become a jaded memory and I began to hoard out of ignorance. The need for my kids to feel equal to had totally blinded my judgment and after studying this lesson, it showed me that I was living like I served a God of scarcity. I\u2019m proud to say I serve a God of abundance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although I\u2019ve always been \u201ckingdom minded\u201d, my actions were one of person who relied on the approval of others and feelings of belonging over what it was I was taught. You see there was a dilemma. Morally and ethically speaking, I was wrong and in a sense I was hindering other people who truly needed the deals that I had receive through thrifting, sales, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In essence I never thought I hoarded anything and always was willing to help the next person and kept my moms legacy alive. I knew this person could use or that person needs that and so on and so fourth. I truly keep my moms approach alive and out of that mindset, Dolly\u2019s House Clothing Ministry, a non-profit was birthed last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without a building like the church space my mom had in the back of NST, my house looks like I should be on one of those hoarder shows but people judge me without knowing the real intentions or my heart. They assume but don\u2019t ask. I mean truth be told, I don\u2019t care because if they aren\u2019t willing to be apart of the solution, don\u2019t bring me problems. (No shade and not stepping on anyone\u2019s toes, just stating the facts). <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though we struggle, though I look like I\u2019m living with Sanford and Son- I am happy and I know I\u2019m blessed! I\u2019m blessed and it is according to God\u2019s standards of happiness and blessing not mans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll never stop thinking of other people, I\u2019ll never stop giving even when my bills fall a little short, and I\u2019ll never turn a blind eye when I know someone could use something because that\u2019s Ralph & Willia in me, it\u2019s in my DNA, and it is who I am. But out of this lesson I learned to stay focused on God\u2019s storehouse and how I can take the mentality of the lessons from Jesus while on the Sermon on the Mount to really change lives one person at a time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My prayer is I can give of my nothingness and whether it be new, used, or indifferent that like my mom, I can be a blessing to someone else. It\u2019s worth having a whole room of giveaways in my opinion (though I need the space to store it elsewhere) <\/em>but I believe in my heart one day I\u2019ll have a space for Dolly\u2019s House Clothing Ministry where people can come \u201cshop\u201d in my boutique and get gently used clothes, toiletries, shoes, household items, and more FREE OF CHARGE! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willia\u2019s Storehouse didn\u2019t die when my mom passed away because there are so many other kingdom minded folks who do this everyday, effortlessly and without credit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the next time a person is viewed as a hoarder, don\u2019t be so quick to judge. Prayerfully that person isn\u2019t collected to oppress others or to tax others heavily, but use their goods like my mom did to build up God\u2019s kingdom and add to His storehouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shout out to ECBC for the privilege of being one of many beautiful people to teach our young people. I love children\u2019s church and I LOVE Sunday school. Like I said this lesson in particular hit home for me in so many ways and when I volunteered to teach this past Sunday, I never knew the blessing I would receive in return.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only was I blessed and learned from the mouth of babes, but I learned not to cross that line of living like I serve a God of scarcity verses the God of abundance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m happy and blessed! Lord help me face every challenge with hope,<\/em><\/strong> faith, clarity, and understanding that You supply all of my needs and in You though a time may come when I May get hungry, I can come to you and truly fulfill my thirst and hunger in Your Word and by Your grace. Amen. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Sunday past I was blessed to be able to assist in Children\u2019s Church. God allowed me the opportunity to teach, learn, and grow with beautiful young people. There were many familiar faces, but one bright star stood out, her… Read moreWillia\u2019s Storehouse for God\u2019s children<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[158,225],"class_list":["post-2436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-identity","tag-encouragement","tag-godskingdom","content-layout-excerpt-thumb"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/img_8084-1.jpg?fit=1500%2C2000&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2742,"url":"https:\/\/inspirationallaroundme.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/02\/leaving-our-nets-behind\/","url_meta":{"origin":2436,"position":0},"title":"Leaving our nets behind.","author":"Whitnee","date":"February 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"As we all talked to you Ms. Susan thinking of various ways we would celebrate your special day bringing things that would bring a smile to your face; we never would have thought you\u2019d get an invitation to party with Jesus for your birthday. 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It was Regis, Melissa, Jason, and I. As we got older we received cuts and bruises while being rambunctious. 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