Letters to...

I have been thinking a lot about legacy lately. To clarify, I am not thinking about death just about legacy in general.

Legacy is like a letter that you leave for the folks around you when you are no longer physically present in a place...

Dwayne Wade left the Miami Heat basketball team after 13 yrs because he wanted to finish his career up at home in chi-town.  He was always a Chicago boy but he had made himself an essential part of Miami and Dade(wade) county during his time with this team. He started and participated in programs for children, the community and the fans. He was a role model to any Miami child in several ways, he left letters for these kids in his own way. Yet when it was time to go home, he left. Nothing would hold him back. At the end of it all, his heart was still in Chicago.

It should be the same with the believers in this world.

While God has deemed it right for each of us to be on this earth for a little while, there will come a time when all of us have to go home. What will your legacy look like when you leave? Have you given all your good to the world? Have you made it a better place? Are you a role model? Have you comforted the weak? Fed the hungry? Taken care of the widows and orphans? Most importantly, have you spoken about your God? Do people know where your heart is?

It's very important to note that no matter how long Wade was in Miami, he never became a Florida boy. He lived there, worked there and was part of life there.  He was always from Chicago.

God asks the same of us, he says that we should be "in the world not of the world."

If you are wondering, well what about the folks who don't believe? 

Here's the beauty of God, we all came from him, all our souls initially belonged to him so whether you believe in him now or not is something that can change by decisions and choices that we make. I was raised to know of God, but there was a time in my life where I chose to not be part of his family.  I wanted to believe in something I could quantify and explain.

How personal is my God? He gave me something that I could use to quantify and explain him.  It was his way of talking to just me. 

Ask God today to prove himself to you. He will!

Want to leave a legacy? What will your letter to the world say?

Love God and the rest will follow...

Winter is coming to an end... Or at least that's is what we keep telling ourselves.

I don't mean presently seasonally, I mean in the seasons of your lives.  Some of you are at a point in your lives where it feels as though you have been enduring the winter season for a few years.  Folks keep encouraging you in their own way. 

They say, "It will end soon" or "it will be sunshine and roses when it ends" and of course there's the standard, "you will look fondly on this time of our life." 

Do you just want to cry out, "how do you know it will end??" or you just want to cry... I would like to say, "I know what you are going through" but let's be honest NO ONE really knows what any other person is going through. Every event can have a common thread but the reality is very different.  Your childhood may cause you to react to an event in a completely different manner than even perhaps your sibling would react.

As much as I want to help, ONLY GOD CAN HELP.  I can pray for you, I can spend time with you, I can cook and clean for you but in the end, you have to call out to God. He created you, He knows you, He has been there with you through the good and the bad. You have to choose to let him into your heart and world. He can help you, heal you and restore you because He loves you.

Love God and the rest will follow.

P.S.

If you need to know how to reach out to God, lemme know and I can walk with you through that journey.

a woman of character...

So did you do it?  Did you sit in silence?  I did albeit for only an hour or so and then pandora went on which eventually led to Netflix.

The good part though? I gave the Lord an hr and He gave me so much peace and such good insight in that time!

Today would have been my grandmother's 95th birthday, I am reminded today more than ever about how she carried herself in the society after her husband's demise.  She raised her children alone and was very careful to ensure that her good name was not tarnished.  She was very regimented, she had her routines and seldom did she get distracted away from her schedule.

She was a passionate woman who held on to rules and regulations, and as such, growing up with her was hard sometimes.  She was very strict and logical, she had fun but it was guarded. As a child I did not understand her, I always felt like I was about to get in trouble with her.  and I did, a LOT!  As an adult, I miss her and I understand her ways a little bit more now.

She enjoyed her quiet life, her books, her Bible and her time with her Lord.  She was very strict about how her family should behave and how she wanted the world to perceive us.  She never sugar coated anything and she wasn't fake. She didn't have many friends and the ones she had respected her.  She didn't trust many people but somehow everyone trusted her.  There is a lot to be said about that especially in today's world with facebook,instagram,snapchat and all the other social media.

I have learned that you need to spend your time wisely, you can't always be spending your energy on other people and not expect to be drained.  I have learned that not everyone needs to know every breath you take, hold your cards close.  I have learned that if people really care they will invest in your life. I have learned that ONLY God deserves your undivided love.  I have learned that God will love you even if you dont give him your undivided love.

She was a woman of her rules and regulations and while I think that I need to love a bit more loudly than she did, I am beginning to the wisdom in a lot of her ways.  I miss her a lot and I talk to her often. In her honor today, I choose to respect myself and my time a bit more than I do.  I know God has been working on breaking my addiction to Netflix.  I know my grandma is helping too.

I want to help others more than i do now.  I want to pray for others more than i do now and most of all I want learn from God's Word more than i do now.

Love God and the rest will follow...

I woke up today in a mood.  I am not quite sure how to explain it.  I have 31 emails in my work email inbox that need my attention.  I have 42 projects that are clamoring to be tended to as well.  However, I just want to put some music on and just close my eyes.  I want to tune out the world for a day and just sit in silence.  

I find it very hard these days to just sit still or in silence.  I am constantly distracted or looking for things to distract me.  How often do you get to sit in silence these days?  even if you had the chance, do you let yourself do it?   We live in a world of constant stimulation. our phones, iPods, televisions, Netflix, games, and of course pokemon go!

When was the last time you spent even 15 mins in silence?  Can you?

Do you know that your mind and spirit need to be rejuvenated?

Are you aware of your own spiritual needs? Are you in tune with Our Creator?

I dare you to take 15 mins today and close your eyes and try to get in tune with your soul.  Turn off the phones, computers and Netflix.  Can you do it?  Can you allow your soul to call out to its Creator?  

My soul is yearning for its Creator, I can feel it!!

I am challenging myself today to turn off the Netflix and sit in silence so I can allow my soul to commune with my Jesus.

I have been convicted in my spirit for my lack of prayer for the persecuted Christians/church and so today, I shall sit with my Jesus.  I hope you find some time in your day to do the same.

Love God and the rest will follow.

From 4/6/16:

2 become 1...

Know that song?  We talked about it at lunch after church the other day.  We all laughed and reminisced about the Spice Girls.  we discussed how we sang along without really knowing what we were saying to not just this song but so many others.

That phrase came up again today but it was in a different context.  I was catching up on sermons from my home church and my pastor said, "the two need to become one."  What was he taking about?

The two people that live inside every single one of us.

Each of us have 2 personalities living inside of us.  One that responds to the spirit of the world and the other that responds to the Spirit of God.  You might not agree with me or believe in God, but the truth is that there's no other explanation.  The spirit of the world appeals to our temporal side, it craves adoration and instant gratification however, every human being has a longing for another world, an eternal world.  All the various interpretations of the 'world to come' is proof of just this.

The real fight for a lot of us is the essential merging of the 2 spirits. It can only be done when God allows it and that is when you find contentment.  In my case, God's spirit has to be stronger than the world's spirit and that's the only way I can be balanced.  It doesn't make any earthly sense but then again when God is involved, nothing ever does...

On a completely unrelated note: Sometimes you just need to sit and allow music to wash over you. there is something very powerful about music.  Here's someone I learned about recently.  He has definitely helped me get through some tough days and I have never even met him.

http://www.kylenolan.net/#/music

Growth

When you think of the word "GROWTH" what comes to mind?

For me, it's a baby becoming an adult and also I see vines holding bunches of grapes. I am sure many people would agree with the first but I am not exactly sure about the latter. I never grew up never any vineyards so I am not sure why that's one of the first images that my brain conjures up.

It's interesting though because while a baby grows vertically, grape vines spread horizontally. Growth in our lives can mean growing up in maturity or it can mean staying in one place but expanding our "horizons."  Recently, I was challenged to do the latter. I always thought of GROWTH as just moving up, learning lessons and then applying it in a bigger pond. However, sometimes you are called to stay in the smaller pond but to explore the other side of the pond.

God could have made Moses the pharaoh and then used Moses to set His people free. Instead he chose to keep Moses as a shepherd and call him to go to the other end of the desert. He asked him to expand his horizons. So as Moses did, we too must go to the other end and glean from the lessons that are awaiting us.

I am a restless being, I am always looking for a way to jump ship because I might find something elsewhere. However recently, God has not allowed new adventures, he has asked me to stay still and it has been one of the hardest things to do.  In the end, it will be worth it.

Love God and the rest will follow.

One of my pastors mentioned a proverb the other day...

"Many people will miss heaven by 18 inches" -unknown

What does this relate to? apparently, it's the distance between your head and your heart!  *shivers down my spine* Why?

Well, I grew up in church, I can speak Christianese really well.  I have sat through countless Bible studies, I have taught several of them!  I have understood the basic tenets of my faith, defended them and can argue them if need be.  However, has it penetrated my heart?

Recently, I have been questioning my actions in the quiet.  I have turned into the person who goes home and watches Netflix for hours on end.  I don't even know what I am watching half the time, the other half I am making conscious decisions to watch shows and movies just to kill the time.  I have fallen behind on keeping up with friends, working on my writing, volunteering or even my baking. All I want to do these days is stare at my computer or tablet.  I have noticed this is affecting my ability to focus at work as well.  If its not in a video format, it doesn't seem to capture my attention for more than 20 minutes.

In addtion, a song has been following me around the last few weeks: "It is well..."

Here are the lyrics:

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
   When sorrows like sea billows roll;
   Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
   It is well, it is well with my soul.
   • Refrain:
     It is well with my soul,
     It is well, it is well with my soul.
2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
   Let this blest assurance control,
   That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
   And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
3. My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
   My sin, not in part but the whole,
   Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
   Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
4. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
   If Jordan above me shall roll,
   No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
   Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
5. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
   The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
   Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
   Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
6. And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
   The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
   The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
   Even so, it is well with my soul.

As I write this i am chuckling because I see how God is trying to tell me something.  I am writhing in pain and crying out but have I taken a moment to just stop and sit in utter silence for like 15 mins? Well, of course not.  one of these days, I will have to actually practice some of this preaching to which I am listening.

In another sermon, a pastor said "Get rid of the 'rhuparia'" whats that? Look below! My soul is in pain and its because of all the RHUPARIA in my system.  I am so glad my God loves me that even when I am not investing in him, he is intune with me and is reaching out to me. Thank the Lord!!

Love God and the rest will follow!

The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon

Strong's Number:   4507 Original Word ruparia Transliterated Word Rhuparia Phonetic Spelling Parts of Speech hroo-par-ee'-ah    Noun Feminine  Definition to make filthy, befoul to defile, dishonour to make filthy