Trying to Stay Saved

by E. N. Joy

  Lorain felt like sinking down in her chair. Just a minute ago she felt like she was on top of the world. Now she felt like the scum of the Earth. Both Pastor and Unique noticed her shift in demeanor.

  “I’m not trying to make you feel bad,” Pastor started, “but—”

  “But you are,” Unique interrupted.

  Both Lorain and Pastor were caught off guard by Unique’s sudden outburst. “And I don’t mean any disrespect, Pastor. But I know what she’s been through. I know what’s been going on.”

  Lorain appreciated Unique’s support, even though she really only knew half of what she’d been dealing with. She still didn’t know the entire story about Broady being a pedophile, the older man who’d impregnated her, then turning around and marrying her mother. When Unique had asked about the man who fathered her, Lorain had simply replied, “He’s dead,” and left it at that. She honestly didn’t plan on ever telling Unique every single, little detail. She didn’t find it necessary. In her spirit, she felt Unique knew enough. Knowing only the half that Unique was now defending Lorain about with Pastor was enough.

  “I think it’s wonderful that instead of being against Sister Lorain,” Pastor said to Unique, “that you are now with her. But we all have to be accountable for ourselves.”

  “And she is accountable. Where blame is due, she takes it.” Unique’s eyes began to water as she spoke of the woman she now knew to be her mother. “Had she not stepped up to the plate and been accountable when it was most important, that’s when I think God would have been disappointed in her. But she did step up. And not only did she change my life, not only did she put a smile on my heart, but God’s heart is smiling too.” Unique wiped away her tears, and then sternly looked at Pastor and said, “So I can’t just sit here and let you make my mother feel bad. She’s been made to feel bad enough in life.” She looked at Lorain with sympathy. “She’s been made to do bad in life.” It was obvious she was referring to Lorain’s relationship with the man who fathered her. “You know what I’ve learned in my short life? That a person can feel bad and do bad all by themselves. But you know when God is really pleased? When God just really shows up and showers you with kisses? When you can do better all by yourself. I mean, ’cause anybody can do bad. There ain’t nothing special about that. But giving all glory to God when a person can do better . . . my, my, my.”

  The room was dead silent.

  “Well, hallelujah,” Pastor said in shock. Pastor knew Unique had the Word in her heart and could pray the enemy away, but she’d just spoken as if she were standing behind the pulpit. “I like that, Sister Unique.” Pastor stood and pulled the emotional Unique into a warm embrace. Noticing Lorain in tears, Pastor pulled her into an embrace as well. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended or made either one of you feel bad,” Pastor apologized. “Just because I’m pastor doesn’t mean I’m always right. Sometimes I steer away from what the Holy Spirit is telling me to do and say and allow my flesh to rise up.” Pastor pulled away and looked at each woman. “The Holy Spirit might convict a person, but He is never into embarrassing folks, or like Sister Unique stated, making a person feel bad. And I’m sorry, daughters.”

  “Apology accepted, Pastor,” each woman stated in between sniffles as the pastor pulled them close again. “The Holy Spirit also has good listening ears. And although you may have gotten it past me, it didn’t get past the Holy Spirit.” Pastor paused before asking. “Sister Unique, now what’s this about referring to Sister Lorain as your mother?”

  By the time Lorain and Unique finished telling Pastor about their recent discovery, Wednesday night Bible Study had already been in session for thirty-five minutes. As soon as Pastor had posed the question of why Unique had referred to Lorain as her mother, it was as if the Holy Spirit had touched each woman on her shoulder, nodded, letting her know it was okay to share their story with Pastor. Both women felt relieved. The spiritual guidance of their spiritual leader through all of this was something each woman needed, not saying that God would not have brought them through it Himself, seeing He’d brought them this far. But they both knew that sometimes God used a living, Earth-walking vessel, just like He’d used Jesus. Pastor was a welcomed vessel.

  And although there were tears as the women told their story, at the end of the conversation, rejoicing, shouting, and praising could be heard from that little office.

  “Oh, my goodness,” Pastor stated after looking at the clock. “Look how late it is. We better go so we can at least catch the last of Bible Study. I’m sure Elder Johnston went on and started teaching when she saw I wasn’t there.”

  “Thank you, Pastor,” Lorain said. “Thank you for being the angel of this house. Thank you for being who and what you say you are. Thank you for being a soldier for the Lord, one that is always here for the saints, no matter the second, the minute, or the hour. I love you, Pastor.”

  “Amen to that,” Unique agreed.

  “Give all glory to God,” was all Pastor stated. “To God be the glory.”

  Pastor ushered the women out of the office, then followed behind after turning off the light and closing the office door. “But, ladies, I have to let you know, and this was a decision I was in the process of making prior to my meeting with you two.”

  The women paused at Pastor’s tone. It was the kind of tone that was a prelude to not-so-good news. “I’m going to be shutting down the Singles Ministry, at least temporarily until I can hear from God. Because as you know, if a ministry is not functioning in the spirit of excellence, then it ain’t functioning up in New Day.”

  “We understand,” Lorain spoke for both herself and Unique. Lorain thought about Mother Doreen and how she’d trusted her enough to turn the reigns of the ministry over to her. She wished Pastor would just assign someone else temporarily instead of shutting the ministry down altogether, but she understood.

  As Pastor followed the women to the Bible Study classroom, although they’d just rejoiced something awful, there was a gloomy mood among them now. Whenever a ministry was dying, mourning took place. Pastor knew from experience that when ministries began to die off, eventually so did membership, and ultimately, sometimes, so did the church. Trying to stay saved was hard enough for a saint; the ministries and resources were there to assist in the battle. Whether the battle of maintaining New Day would be a win, lose, or draw, Pastor couldn’t help but smile knowing that however it went, New Day and its members would be victorious in winning the entire war—because the Bible told them so.

  Readers’ Group Guide Questions

  1. Do you agree that once the New Day Temple of Faith pastor suspected domestic abuse between Paige and Blake that they should have been counseled separately?

  2. Do you feel Uriah had a right to be angry with Bethany’s deception, considering he’d deceived her as well?

  3. Nita seemed to always be around to witness incidents concerning Paige and Blake. Do you feel that was God positioning her, or was it merely accidental that she was in the right place at the right time?

  4. Paige didn’t want to give up on her marriage, but neither did she want to stay in a situation that was harmful. Do you believe she made the right decision?

  5. Why do you believe Mother Doreen had such a difficult time hearing clearly from God?

  6. How did you feel about the fact that Raygene, Tamarra’s daughter, hadn’t committed suicide after all? That it was faulty brakes that had caused her car to crash?

  7. Do you find the New Day Divas series to be entertaining, ministering, both, or neither?

  8. Have you realized up until this point that the gender of the pastor of New Day Temple of Faith has never been revealed? What sex do you think the pastor is? Does it matter?

  9. At what point did you consider Blake and Paige’s relationship abusive?

  10. Quite a bit of turmoil and issues transpired between Bethany and Uriah. Do you think God had a plan in everything that took place? Do you think the enemy might have had something to do with it? If so, do yo
u believe it might have been a legal assignment from God? Why or why not?

  11. Do you think Mother Doreen hid behind church and assignments from God as an excuse to prevent her from finding love and happiness within her own life? Why or why not?

  12. There is one more book to the “New Day Divas” series. Are you excited to read, after a four-book journey, the fifth and final installment? Or do you feel the series could have ended with this book, or any of the others?

  About the Author

  Blessed selling author E.N. Joy is the writer behind the five-book series, “New Day Divas,” coined, the “Soap Opera In Print.” Formerly writing secular works under the names Joylynn M. Jossel and Joy, this award—winning author has been sharing her literary expertise on conference panels in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, as well as cities across the country.

  After thirteen years of being a paralegal in the insurance industry, Joy finally divorced her career and married her mistress and passion: writing. In 2000, Joy formed End Of The Rainbow projects publishing company, where she published her own works until landing a book deal with a major publisher. Under End of the Rainbow, Joy has published New York Times and Essence magazine bestselling authors in the “Sinner” series, which include Even Sinners Have Souls, Even Sinners Have Souls TOO, and Even Sinners Still Have Souls.

  In 2004, Joy branched off into the business of literary consulting in which she provides one-on-one consultations and literary services such as ghostwriting, editing, professional read-throughs, write behinds, etc. Her clients consist of first-time authors, Essence magazine bestselling authors, New York Times bestselling authors, and entertainers.

  Not forsaking her love of poetry, she has published two works of poetry titled Please Tell Me If The Grass Is Greener and World On My Shoulders. Joy plans to turn her focus back to that genre one day. “But my spirit has moved in another direction,” Joy says. Needless to say, she no longer pens street lit (in which two of her titles, If I Ruled the World and Dollar Bill, made the Essence magazine bestsellers list. Dollar Bill appeared in Newsweek and has also been translated into Japanese). She no longer pens erotica or adult contemporary fiction either, in which one of her titles earned her the Borders bestselling African American romance award at the Romance Writers of America National Conference. Instead, under the name E.N. Joy, she pens Christian fiction, and under the name N. Joy, she pens children’s and young adult titles. Joy’s children’s story, The Secret Olivia Told Me, received the American Library Association Coretta Scott King Honor. Book club rights have also been purchased by Scholastic, and the book is on tour at Scholastic Book Fairs in schools all over the map. Elementary and middle school children have fallen in love with reading and creative writing as a result of the readings and workshops Joy performs in schools nationwide.

  Currently, Joy is the executive editor for Urban Christian. When she’s not adding her two cents to other authors’ works, she’s diligently working on her own. Joy’s “New Day Divas” series is having greater success than she could have ever imagined. She is certain this project is the one that is going to afford her with the title of New York Times Bestselling Author. Until then, she doesn’t mind the title of Blessed selling author.

  You can visit Joy at www.JoylynnJossel.com

  and www.enjoywrites.com

  Be sure to pick up

  Book Five of the “New Day Divas” series titled

  I Can Do Better All By Myself

  The series comes full circle as the New Day Temple of Faith’s Single’s Ministry begins to unravel. The New Day Temple of Faith pastor even considers dissolving the ministry. Some members believe the only way to hold it together is by getting their pastor to join the ministry. And why shouldn’t their leader show support by joining, considering the pastor’s own single status? Some church members support the idea, while others frown upon the fact that they are being led by a shepherd who is single in the first place. It becomes an all-out war with one side wanting the pastor to embrace singlehood, while others secretly play matchmaker.

  Marriage has been the furthest thing from the pastor’s mind. Not because there hasn’t been an opportunity, but because there really hasn’t been time. With a needy congregation facing trial after tribulation—namely Paige and the secret she’s keeping from her husband, and Lorain and the secret she’s keeping from her mother and Unique, not to mention the secret she and Unique are keeping from the world—Pastor has no time to play the dating game. And being a pastor on call twenty-four seven, who has time for a serious relationship, period, other than the one with God? But eventually, decisions have to made around New Day, and they will be, but will these decisions mend the ministry—or destroy the church?

  Safety Plan Model for the Victim of Domestic Violence

  Taken from Turning the Tide: Charting a New Course Towards Safety, Resource Guide

  Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence

  (Used with permission from the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, 4807 Evanswood Drive, Suite 201, Columbus, OH 43229)

  Step 1. Safety during Violence

  I Can Use the Following Options:

  a. If I decide to leave, I will

  b. I can keep a bag packed and put it_______ so I can leave quickly.

  c. I can tell ________ about the violence and have them call the police when violence erupts.

  d. I can teach my children to use the telephone to call the police and the fire department.

  e. I will use this code word ___________ for my children, friends, or family to call for help.

  f. If I have to leave my home, I will go ______ (Be prepared even if you think you will never have to leave.)

  g. I can teach these strategies to my children.

  h. When an argument erupts, I will move to a safer room such as _________.

  i. I will use my instincts, intuition, and judgment. I will protect myself and my children until we are out of danger.

  Step 2. Safety When Getting Ready to Leave

  I Can Use the Following Strategies:

  a. I will leave money and an extra set of keys with _________.

  b. I will keep important documents and keys at __________.

  c. I will open a savings account by this date _________ to increase my independence.

  d. Other things I can do to increase my independence are:___________________________________

  e. The domestic violence hotline is ________

  f. The shelter’s hotline is _________.

  g. I will keep change for phone calls with me at ALL times. I know that if I use a telephone credit card, that the following month, the telephone bill will tell the abuser who I called after I left. I will keep this information confidential by using a prepaid phone card, using a friend’s telephone card, calling collect, or using change.

  h. I will prearrange with _________ and _________ so that I can stay with them and know beforehand who will lend me money.

  i. I can leave extra clothes with_.

  j. I will review my safety plan every _________ (time frame) in order to plan the safest route.

  k. I will review the plan with ________ (a friend, counselor, or advocate).

  l. I will rehearse the escape plan and practice it with my children.

  Step 3. Safety at Home

  I Can Use the Following Safety Methods:

  a. I can change the locks on my doors and windows as soon as possible.

  b. I can replace wooden doors with steel doors.

  c. I can install security systems, i.e., additional locks, window bars, poles to wedge against doors, electronic sensors, etc.

  d. I can purchase rope ladders to be used for escape routes from the second floor.

  e. I can install smoke detectors and buy fire extinguishers for each floor in my home.

  f. I can install an outside lighting system that lights up when someone approaches my home.

  g. I will teach my children how to use the phone to make collect calls to me and to _______ (friend, family, ministe
r, etc.) if my partner tried to take them.

  h. I will tell people who care for my children exactly who has permission to pick up my children and that my partner is NOT allowed to pick them up. Inform the following people: School ________

  Day Care _________

  Babysitter _________

  Sunday School _________

  Teacher _________

  Others _________

  i. I can tell the following people that my partner no longer lives with me and that they should call the police if he is near my residence: Neighbors _________

  Church Leaders ________

  Friends _________

  Others ____________

  Step 4. Order of Protection

  The Following Steps Will Help Enforce the Order of Protection:

  a. I will keep the protection order in _________ (the locations). Always keep a copy with you.

  b. I will give my protection order to police departments in the area where I visit my friends, family, where I live, and where I work.

  c. If I visit other counties, I will register my protection order with those counties.

  d. I can call the local domestic violence agency if I am not sure how to register my protection order with the police departments.

  e. I will tell my employer, my church leader, my friends, my family, and others that I have a protection order.

  f. If my protection order gets destroyed, I know I can go to the county courthouse and get another copy.

  g. If my partner violates the protection order, I will call the police and report it. I will call my lawyer, my advocate, counselor, and/or tell the courts about the violation.

  h. If the police do not help, I will call my advocate or my attorney, AND I will file a complaint with the chief of the police department.