Depression Forums

EXERCISE IN PREPARATION FOR THANKSGIVING

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. 

With a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.  Try to reach a full minute, and then relax. 

Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. 

After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks. 

Then try 50-lb potato sacks and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. 

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14114371/original-ASBO-kids-Keir-Starmer-Blair-murder-rape.html

What happened to the original ASBO kids? As Keir Starmer brings back Blair-era policy, how child tearaways named and shamed in public went on to murder and rape

By FRANCINE WOLFISZ

Published: 12:49, 22 November 2024 | Updated: 14:46, 22 November 2024

They were the fresh-faced hoodlums who wreaked havoc on Britain's streets.

From starting fires to wrecking cars, vandalising property or even shooting at people with air rifles,  the notorious 'ASBO Kids' became known as the poster boys for street crime committed by children as young as ten.  The ASBO, or anti-social behavioural order, was introduced by Sir Tony Blair's Government in 1998 to impose curfews on individuals to deter them from a life of crime.  Mugshots of children were plastered across newspapers in the hopes a public shaming might teach them a lesson and provide a sense of justice for the neighbourhoods they terrorised.  But for many it became a badge of honour, and more than half of those who received one would breach its conditions.  For some, ASBOs had little effect on their lives and they would go on to commit more serious crimes including burglary, rape and murder.  ASBOs were scrapped by the Tories in 2014 and replaced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with civil injunctions and criminal behaviour orders.  Now Sir Keir Starmer's government is looking to resurrect the ASBO with new 'respect orders' as well as enhanced police powers to confiscate nuisance vehicles, including e-scooters and e-bikes ridden dangerously on the pavement.  However, respect orders will be less wide-ranging than ASBOs.  Labour's new measure will only be imposed on adults not children and will carry a maximum two-year prison term for breaching the order, as opposed to five.  More than two decades on, MailOnline takes a fresh look at what happened next to the original ASBO kids. 

The 'Asbros': Daniel and Ricky Oakley 

Daniel Oakley racked up 40 arrests with his brother Ricky before they became known as the 'demons from hell' in their neighbourhood of Park Village in Wolverhampton.  The siblings became the youngest recipients of anti-social behaviour orders in 2006, prompting them to become known as 'Asbros' and even made an appearance on the Jeremy Kyle Show as a result of their antics.  Their reign of terror included throwing knives, starting fires and letting down tyres, before they began carrying out robberies and burglaries. On one occasion, the duo suffered severe burns after Ricky threw a can of foam on a fire and it exploded.  Speaking to MailOnline previously, Daniel recalled: 'That was just the start of it. There was a big explosion that's for sure, we were walking down our road with smouldering hair and no eyebrows I've come a long way from where I was.'

In 2015 his brother Ricky in prison 29-year-old Daniel vowed to start afresh and said he planned to help steer other youngsters away from street gangs.  Daniel, who lives in his own place in Wolverhampton, is today 'free from court orders and probation', having been off the authorities' radar since 2014.   The formerly troubled youth, who has been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder, believes ASBOs had no impact on the children who were handed them, and in his case only made things worse.  'My personality disorder came from my ASBO,' he added, 'I became ''famous'' and was forced to live in my own bubble.  I was isolated from other kids, I couldn't go to school because so many wanted to fight me to prove a point, it became the main theme of my childhood.'

It was prison, not ASBOs, which made him open his eyes.  'Prison really changed everything,' he said, 'My freedom had been taken away and that really taught me a lesson.'

Daniel, who is gay, is well known in his area after several appearances in the media over the years, and has amassed a following online, particularly among young LGBT people growing up in similar circumstances to him.  He added: 'I have some supporters who send me clothes, gifts and sometimes money which is amazing.  I also have young gay people from council estates reaching out for advice and others who want to leave crime behind, and I love to try and help them steer a new path.' 

He previously revealed how he turned to loutish behaviour because he was hiding his homosexuality.  In 2015 he vowed to start afresh and said he planned to help steer other youngsters away from street gangs.  Speaking to Jennifer Tippett and Kim Willis, Daniel told The Sun: 'I knew I was gay. Dad would have hated me if he knew, so at 14 I tried to kill myself because the secret was torture. When you're a thug on a council estate, being gay isn't an option. I was living a lie.'

He said his uncle caught him with another boy when he was 16. His uncle then told his father, who branded him a 'poof' and a 'queer'. After that, he claims he attempted to hide his true feelings by running riot around the area.  Daniel recalled how life on the council estate where the boys grew up was hard and, without parental guidance, they revelled in their notoriety as a trouble maker.  He said the boys often misbehaved so they would be given some attention from their father, who they say otherwise ignored them.  But, after leaving home at 15, he began to turn his life around. He went on to study at Walsall College, where he did a level-1 GNVQ in business studies, disassociating himself from gangs and making new friends who he said accepted him for who he was.  Daniel previously revealed that his brother was out of prison and 'doing his own thing', adding that they rarely speak.   When asked about plans to reintroduce ASBOs, Danny told MailOnline they were 'ineffective'. He added: 'They are not a deterrent. If you do a crime, you should do the time.  Politicians who want ASBOs back or something similar are being too lackadaisical. It's time to scape those orders indefinitely and send offenders to prison instead.  ASBOs didn't help me or my brother. Don't think about bringing then back, scrap them for good, and send offenders to prison instead!'

'Classic psychopath': Joseph McCann 

The five McCann brothers helped turn Greater Manchester into the ASBO capital of Britain thanks to their 'terrorising' antics, spearheaded by 'psychopath' Joseph McCann.  The siblings were said to leave neighbours cowering in their wake, but a handful kept files of evidence on the boys while council bosses set up a video camera after receiving so many complaints.  They were caught on CCTV wrecking cars, throwing bricks at workers and vandalising property, leading Manchester City Council to evict the whole family on the grounds of breach of tenancy.   Despite being shipped two miles away to Ardwick, the brothers continued to return to Beswick just to raise hell, leading to Joseph receiving an ASBO aged 14 in 1999, alongside brothers Sean, 16 and Michael, 13.   A year after the ASBOs were issued, burglaries in Beswick had halved and takings in its shopping precinct were up. But for Joseph, at least, the orders had no impact on his criminal desires.   In 2008, he was jailed for nine years for aggravated burglary after forcing his way into an 85-year-old man's home in Bedford and threatening him with a knife.  He failed to be rehabilitated and after his release he was arrested again for burglary in August 2017 and given a three-and-a-half year jail term.   But after 18 months behind bars, he was released early by the authorities in error, allowing him to embark on a 15-day rampage of rape, violence and abduction.  A judge described him as a 'classic psychopath' as he dealt him 33 life sentences in 2019 after he targeted 11 victims aged 11 to 71 in Greater Manchester, Ramsbottom and London.   He had been charged with a total of 37 offences relating to 11 victims, ranging in ages from 11 to 71.   A mother, who was tied up while he raped her son, 11, and her daughter, 17, in their home, said: 'If the probation service had done its job, these tragedies would never have occurred.  My family was torn apart by what that man did and it could all have been prevented.'

A report by watchdogs revealed staff admitted being 'scared' of McCann and said he was 'very intimidating' as well as 'menacing and manipulative'.  The document added: 'It is evident that offender managers were threatened, blamed and lied to by [McCann].'

Other shocking revelations included how McCann wrote to relatives asking them to find him a 'clean young girl' on his release.  Yet he was not identified as a potential sex offender and prison officers did not share details of his letter.

'Ratboy' Anthony Kennedy

Anthony Kennedy, aka Ratboy, received his first caution at the age of 10 for terrorising the Byker Wall estate in Newcastle in the 1990s.   Between the ages of 11 and 13, he was arrested 16 times and appeared in court three times for offences including burglary, theft, taking a car without consent and other driving offences.  He earned the nickname Ratboy after being found by police hiding in a ventilation shaft.  At 14, he admitted burglary and head butting a policeman in the face during a campaign of terror against elderly women.  Sticking to his modus operandi, he was jailed at 17 for four years for robbing a pensioner, and was moved to an adult prison a year later to serve out the rest of his sentence.  He was sentenced a further three times for burglary at the ages of 20, 24 and 26.   His last victim, a security consultant, left his locked and alarmed home on Kensington Gardens, Monkseaton, around 3pm on September 21, 2018.  Kennedy entered by smashing a century old glass panel in the front door.  But the bumbling villain cut himself in the process and left a trail of blood as he scoured the house.  Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said the victim returned the following day to find his home ransacked.  Sentimental items had been stolen including watches worth £750 one of which was 35 years old and of significant sentimental value.  Judge Robert Spragg jailed Kennedy, of Michaelgate, Byker, Newcastle, for three years and four months, adding he was 'turning into a career burglar'.  As a child, Kennedy confounded police as he targeted the homes of the elderly, escaping into the heating ducts and stairwells of Byker Wall  the estate in Newcastle's East End where he grew up.   Jeff Taylor, defending at his 2018 trial, said: 'He had notoriety as a child. There was a period of time when he was very much having difficulties in his life and was excluded from school at 11.  A significant number of offences occurred in the Byker Wall area. At that point the design of the structure was considered to be relatively easy to enter with a small person being passed through the window by others. It has extended into his adult life.   He struggles with his ability to deal with drugs. He solves problems by resorting back to criminal offending.  He is apologetic, he has insight into the effect of his actions but his thinking skills are deficient and he has learning difficulties.'

In 2007, Kennedy claimed to have given up a life of crime after finding love and religion. He and his partner moved to Blyth, Northumberland, to have a fresh start.  He said at the time: 'I believe it's important to treat others how you would like to be treated yourself and to have respect for other people.  When I was Ratboy, those were things I didn't care about. Ratboy is the person I used to be.'

He added: 'The only names I want to be called now are Anthony and Dad. I've turned my back on crime and would never go back to that life. I've got too much to lose.'

Alfie Hodgin

At just 10 years old, Alfie Hodgin was one of the youngest people ever to receive an anti-social behaviour order but it appears it did little to change his behaviour.  In October 2022 he was jailed after he tried to become a drug gang boss but was stabbed 27 times with a machete in a revenge attack.  The 18-year-old was locked up after he was caught with £2,320 of heroin and crack cocaine while 'slumped on the floor covered in blood' in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.   The teenager from Liscard, Merseyside, was working for an organised crime group in a bid to pay off debt he had accumulated but he instead stole the gang's phone and drugs as he attempted to run his own operation.  Liverpool Crown Court heard how a gang of four machete-wielding men left Hodgin lying in a pool of his own blood on July 14 with 27 stab wounds.  Reports at the time heard that dozens of police cars responding to the incident which saw the attackers jump out at Hodgin out of a grey SUV.  He spent two weeks in hospital due to the severity of his injuries having been rescued by an air ambulance. Prosecutor Derek Jones told the court Hodgin had 'clearly been subjected to a serious assault with weapons, thought to be machetes'.

But he would be arrested by officers who found him in the possession of £1,220 of heroin, £1,100 of crack cocaine and a £1,208 'graft' phone.   Hodgin admitted possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of the drugs as he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years.

Kyle and Calvin Hooper

Kyle and Calvin Hooper were aged just 12 and 10 respectively when they were handed ASBOs for terrorising their Newport neighbourhood.  The order was imposed for five years after they threw bricks at moving buses, launched bottles and eggs and local residents and workers and shot at people with an air pistol.  Kyle once swung a metal bar at a woman after she challenged a group of youths who were causing a disturbance, a court heard.  The siblings were involved in 44 incidents over a 14-month period before being handed their first ASBOs in January 2005.  They would find themselves in front of the court again, however, when they each received a two-year ASBO in March 2014.   They were banned from meeting up with certain friends who they had caused trouble with and could not gather in a group of more than three people.  The brothers were also banned from entering certain areas.  Almost a decade later, and Kyle, at least, appears to have stayed out of trouble after having a son.  He regularly posts pictures with friends on social media and helps run a local football club.  Kyle was jailed in 2020 for breaching the terms of his community order.

Craig Fletcher

Craig Fletcher is currently serving a life sentence with a minimum term of of 25 years after carrying out the brutal murder of a father on Boxing Day in 2018.  At 15, he was the first in Redcar and Cleveland to be slapped with an ASBO for tormenting locals in South Bank in 2001 - before receiving his second order just three years later.  In May 2004, the same year as his second ASBO, he was jailed for three years after asking a 'naive and vulnerable' deaf man to give him lift early one morning before violently robbing him of his car, which was later found burned out.  Undeterred and clearly not rehabilitated, Fletcher grinned in the dock in 2018 when the then-21-year-old was jailed for two years and nine months for a horrifying assault on a 16-year-old boy.   Fletcher and two other men aged 18 and 19 kicked and punched the boy to within an inch of his life before dragging him into a field robbing him of just £9 and a mobile phone.  The year before he became a murderer, Fletcher vowed his criminal career was a thing of the past, telling Teesside Live he wanted to focus on his young family.   'I got my ASBO because, basically, I was a little nuisance,' Fletcher said.

'I was going around smashing windows and drinking in the streets, I was out of control. I'm getting texts off people who I used to have problems with saying ''let's bury the hatchet''.  I've changed my ways, and everyone deserves a chance at turning over a new leaf.'

A year later, Fletcher and his accomplice Craig Barstow faced Teesside Crown Court for the killing of Gavin Barnes, 35, which they filmed in Fletcher's Eston High Street flat.  Both men had previously admitted the murder. Barstow, 31, of South Bank, was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 26-and-a-half years.  Prosecutor Peter Makepeace QC told the court Mr Barnes died from a severe blunt force head injury with multiple impacts to the head causing skull and facial fractures, brain damage and severe swelling.  A postmortem carried out on Mr Barnes found 105 injuries were inflicted on his body including bone fractures and broken ribs, The Mirror reported.  Mr Makepeace described how the victim, who had issues with alcohol and relapsed on Christmas Day, was sleeping rough in Eston Square after a falling out with his girlfriend and had been drinking with Fletcher and Barstow.  But at some point, the court heard, Barstow took drunken exception to Mr Barnes for no good reason and launched into a sustained, torturous attack.  Footage of the murder taken from Fletcher's own mobile phone was shown to the court but it was so graphic, the public gallery was cleared as it was played.  It showed the victim lying on the kitchen floor in a dishevelled state and then, two hours later at around 6.30pm, it again showed Mr Barnes had 'received a very severe beating and is utterly helpless'.

The footage showed Barstow dragging Mr Barnes along a corridor, Fletcher was filming and commentating throughout, sometimes taking part in the violence.  Mr Barnes was in distress and unable to speak or make coherent noise except 'guttural expressions of pain'.  Both murderers were 'laughing throughout' the attack, they slapped him and Barstow kicked him with steel toe-capped rigger boots.  Fletcher could be heard saying: 'He's hanging on for a long time this kid isn't he.'

The footage then shows Barstow dragging Mr Barnes from the flat by his underwear shouting 'Google me'.

He slammed the door on Mr Barnes' lifeless body and looked up at the camera smiling.  Both were laughing, Barstow saying: 'I told him not to wind me up he started it.'

Fletcher filmed blood on himself and said: 'Looks like a murder scene.'

At one point, a dog bowl was placed in front of the helpless victim. After further degrading and sadistic attacks, Fletcher said: 'I video-recorded a murder. Finish him off then.'

Barstow replied: 'He's dead.' The violence lasted more than three hours.

Robert White

Robert White, who was one of the youngest people to be given an ASBO, was jailed for a violent machete raid after growing up to be a serial criminal.  White made headlines in 1999 when he was stripped of his right to anonymity after continually breaching the ASBO which he was handed at the age of 12.  Within three years of being handed the order, he racked up a further 160 alleged offences and went on to be jailed when he was just 15.  White then graduated into adult crime and was jailed in 2008 for threatening a shopkeeper with a machete - in total he has been in court 33 times over 75 separate charges.  In 2016 he was jailed for more than six years after he and three fellow thugs stormed a house armed with an axe and a machete, beat up residents and stole a car while he was on bail for another offence.   Jailing him at Bristol Crown Court, Judge James Patrick told White it was an extremely serious offence and the victims were confronted by a group of 'mob handed' offenders.  He said: 'This offence involved significant planning and it was a prolonged incident. The complainant lost two teeth, which is, in my judgement, serious harm.'

White became the youngest offender to be given an ASBO, just one year after they were introduced in 1999.  Three years later, at the age of 15, he appeared in court again, having made a mockery of the order by throwing fireworks at cars, shining a laser beam at a bus driver and spitting at filmgoers.  In a bid to deter him from further offences, a judge removed his anonymity but decided not to send him to jail.   But, just a few months later, White was sentenced to one year at a young offenders' institution after admitting six offences including burglary and car theft.  They were his 16th convictions and the latest in a catalogue of more than 160 alleged offences committed in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.   At the time, White's solicitor, David Bird, blamed his reoffending on the notoriety he had gained.  After his release, White's crime spree continued. Six years later, when he was aged 21, the tearaway was jailed for more than four years after threatening a shopkeeper with a machete.

Declan Madigan

He was labelled a 'one-boy crime wave' back in 2000 after being arrested 100 times for violent crime, burglary and car theft when he was just a teenager.   But Declan Madigan, who was 14 when he was handed an ASBO, seems to have finally got his life in order following a stint in prison.   He was jailed for 11 years in 2014 after being convicted of a drive-by shooting and drug offences in Nottingham.  He had been paralysed from the waist-down in an earlier car crash but ordered two others to fire shots at an empty house, the court heard.   The career criminal vowed to change his ways when he was released early in 2018, telling a judge he was 'desperate to stay out of prison' so that he could settle down and raise a family.   His barrister Lisa Hardy told Nottingham Crown Court: 'He doesn't want his children to have the life he has had.'

Madigan a man with 26 convictions for 149 offences was 'frightened to death, it is fair to say, of being sent back to prison for any reason at all', added Mrs Hardy.

Madigan has stayed true to his word and has remained out of prison, sharing a smiling selfie on Facebook.

Tyler Williams and Shamen Williams

Tyler Williams and Shamen Williams were just baby-faced 13 and 10-year-olds when Kent Police took their first mugshots and 'named and shamed' them for their unruly behaviour after they were served with the ASBOs in 2003.   But 20 years later, the pair, along with their younger sibling Brandon, were jailed for their involvement in two separate attacks in one night involving the use of machetes.  The three brothers embarked on an hour-long violent spree 'for sport or fun' on March 4, 2021, targeting strangers in the street with a machete in Kent.  One victim, a woman parked in her car near a shop in Gillingham, Kent, was assaulted by Shamen, suffering injuries to her face and head, while her vehicle was damaged by Tyler.  He also brandished a machete at a man and chased him down the street.  Later that night in Chatham, three men were attacked by Shamen with a machete, with one needing treatment in a London hospital for multiple injuries to his face, shoulder and back, while another was taken to a local hospital.  Although Tyler was unarmed on this occasion and did not inflict any of the wounds himself, he was said to have encouraged Shamen, urging: 'Go on, do him.'

Tyler was subsequently convicted of two offences of affray, possessing a bladed article, criminal damage, wounding with intent, and possessing cocaine with intent to supply.  Shamen was convicted of two offences of affray, two of possessing a bladed article, assault causing actual bodily harm, criminal damage, wounding with intent and attempted wounding with intent.  Brandon was convicted of two offences of affray.  Their previous offending included attacking victims with their Pitbull crossbreed dogs as well as a clawhammer.  But their latest crimes, committed while on licence from prison sentences handed down in 2018, were said by Judge Robert Lazarus to reflect 'a step-up' in their antisocial conduct.  Tyler, 33, was sentenced on Tuesday to 13 years' imprisonment while Shamen, 30, whose Facebook profile describes him as a 'full-time scumbag', was also jailed for 13 years.  Younger sibling Brandon, 24, was jailed for 18 months for his involvement in the two incidents.

Two weeks of terror: How Joseph McCann drove around the country abducting and raping his victims

Victim one, April 21 - McCann's sickening attacks began when he snatched a 21-year-old woman as she walked home from Pryzm nightclub in Watford in the early hours.  After kidnapping her with a knife to her throat, he told her: 'I don't agree with hitting women', before raping her in her own bed.  The victim was able to preserve DNA on a tissue and prosecutors said it was ‘one billion more times likely‘ to have come from McCann.  The woman reported the attack to police, McCann's details were put on the Police National Computer and a prison recall was issued.

Victim two, April 25 - He abducted a 25-year-woman as she walked home from work in Walthamstow and subjected her to a 14-hour rape ordeal.  McCann told her he 'wanted to make her rape a child' when they were outside a school.

Victims three and four, April 25 - Hours after abducting the 25-year-old woman, who he was still holding captive, McCann was caught on CCTV bundling a 21-year-old into his car in north London, as her sister, 18, ran off screaming.  The 21-year-old was forced to perform sex acts on the 25-year-woman and was also raped.  The two captives escaped outside the Phoenix Lodge in Watford, after the 25-year-old woman hit McCann over the head with a vodka bottle.   The Metropolitan Police circulated a CCTV image of McCann at the Phoenix Hotel and received a tip-off with his name following a public appeal.

Victim five, six and seven, May 5 - McCann struck again after meeting a woman at a bar in Lancashire and going back to her home.  He tied the woman up with cable from her hairdryer. He then subjected her 17-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son to a horrific four hour sex ordeal where they were both raped.  The family’s ordeal came to an end when the girl jumped naked from a first floor bedroom and ran to her grandmother’s house to raise the alarm.  The 17-year-old said in a statement to police: 'You know when you can see inside someone’s eyes and you know they are pure evil.'

Her distressing 999 call left jurors in tears and led the judge to offer them counselling half way through the trial.

Victim eight, May 5 - After leaving the house in Lancashire, McCann then abducted a 71-year-old woman in the car park of a supermarket.  When she protested he punched her in the face and later sexually assaulted her in the car.

Victim nine, May 5 - Later that day, McCann abducted a 13-year-old girl.  He forced the pensioner, who was also in the car, to drive as he sexually assaulted the teenager.  Both the girl and the 71-year-old woman were able to escape at Knutsford service station.

Victims 10 and 11, May 5 - His final victims were two 14-year-old girls who crouched in terror on the back seat of his stolen car while being chased by police.  Roadblocks had been set up as police searched for McCann in a stolen Fiat Punto.  He was forced to flee on foot after crashing and abandoning the car and was captured on film running through the back gardens of homes in Cheshire pursued by police.  McCann hid in a tree and despite being spotted by a police helicopter refused to give up.  Footage released by the police showed McCann being captured by a specialist team after a four hour standoff.  He was shivering having worn a wet red T-shirt he had snatched from a clothesline while running between houses.  After his arrest he taunted police by saying if they had caught him after the first two rapes he would not have been able to continue with his assaults.

May 6 - A police helicopter finally locates him up a tree, he was coaxed down and arrested.

CHURCH BULLETIN BLOOPERS

~ This one I said myself during the congregational prayer when leading prayer for our unsaved loved ones: Father, we just want to pray for our unloved saved ones.

~ Please welcome Pastor Don, a caring individual who loves hurting people.

~ Come out this evening for a time of prayer and sinning.

~ A woman's blouse was found at a table in the middle of the servant appreciation dinner. If you lost your blouse, please come to the church office.

~ Overeaters Anonymous meeting will be held at 8 pm in the large room.

~ The ladies in the style show will meet with their dresses down in front after morning worship.

~ A worm welcome to all who have come today.

~ Sermon Outline:

I. Delineate your fear

II. Disown your fear

III. Displace your rear

~ Next Friday we will be serving hot gods for lunch.

~ If you would like to make a donation, fill out a form, enclose a check and drip in the collection basket.

~ Nov. 11: An evening of boweling at Lincoln Country Club.

~ Women's Luncheon: Each member bring a sandwich. Polly Phillips will give the medication.

~ Karen's beautiful solo: "It is Well with my Solo"

~ Congratulations to Tim and Rhonda on the birth of their daughter October 12 thru 17.

~ If you choose to heave during the Postlude, please do so quietly.

~ We are grateful for the help of those who cleaned up the grounds around the church building and the rector.

~ Hymn: "I Love Thee My Ford"

~ Sign-up sheet for anyone wishing to be water baptized on the table in the foyer.

~ Newsletters are not being sent to absentees because of their weight.

~ Helpers are needed! Please sign up on the information sheep.

~ The Advent Retreat will be held in the lover level of St. Mary's Cathedral.

~ The District Duperintendent will be meeting with the church board.

https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2024/04/12/unwrapping-our-gifts-for-gods-glory?utm_campaign=Daily%20Devotions&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9bAnEtxTWGcJqaQ0Nti2hW_3E8Shn8Vicjr9FtrZy6ksKNdx6J2x7fg2AYFW4h9GPbvGk9UqiXa9SgjFQmlssDTaTJCQ&_hsmi=300299698&utm_content=300299698&utm_source=hs_email#disqus_thread

Unwrapping Our Gifts for God’s Glory
April 12, 2024
by Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young

“This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NLT)

Throughout my elementary and middle school years, I spent many hours at the dance studio starting with tap and then signing up for ballet and jazz. The music moved me, but it took practice and discipline to get the steps just right.  One of my teachers used a large stick to pound out the rhythm of our dances on the wooden floor as we practiced. She wanted to make sure every movement was precise but also flowed with the mood of the music. Sometimes she would demonstrate sections of the dance for us. I deeply longed to dance like her elegantly expressing the emotion of the song with every sashay and compass turn.  Just as I had a dance mentor, a young man named Timothy in the Bible had a spiritual mentor in the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote the book of 2 Timothy as a letter to encourage Timothy to follow in his footsteps and to fix Timothy’s focus on the faith.  “This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

When Paul said “fan into flames,” he used a Greek word that essentially meant “fire it up.” He was encouraging Timothy to ignite his spiritual gifts and let them burn for others to see.  Sometimes learning something new is surprisingly hard. But as we unwrap our gifts, nurture them, and invest time in practicing, we make progress toward full flourishing.  In this passage, Paul was also addressing Timothy’s lack of confidence. Timothy may have felt unsure of his gifts, but Paul reminded him that fear and timidity do not come from God.  Maybe you’ve felt this way too. I know I have. The voices saying you’re not good enough, you can’t do it like her, and you’re going to mess this up seem to be shouting from every direction.  We need a community to cheer us on in our giftings. Timothy needed Paul’s coaching to remind him that God had given him gifts and urge him to keep seeking God's purpose. I needed my dance teacher to pound out the rhythm and demonstrate the movements of the dance so I could find the flow. We all need mentors, teachers, fellow believers and friends to encourage us in the dance of life.  It takes courage to step out and use our gifts with power, love and self-discipline. And God has already given us that courage through the Holy Spirit within us. So put on your dance shoes, my friend it’s time to get moving.