Daily Devotional – 11/23/11 “You have something to be thankful for!”

As the holiday fast approaches, I am sure there are a lot of people asking the question, “What do I have to be thankful for?”  Your spirit is low because it’s the first holiday without your mom or dad or you don’t have the money readily available to cook dinner for your family.  You may even be without a job and living in someone else’s house and you just can’t seem to get your head above water.  But I am here to tell you that even though you are going through, there is a blessing in your storm.

I know that it’s easy for me to tell you that the death of your loved one will get easy because I haven’t dealt with it but I believe in God’s word in 2nd Corinthians 4:17 that say “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”  Yea, not having momma around to cook her turkey and dressing this Thanksgiving is hard for some, but momma wouldn’t come back here if given the chance.  Because, see, all of her suffering, pain, heartache and circumstances came to an end the moment the angel kissed her to sleep.  I’m sure that she has instilled in you God’s word and she has prepared you for a time such as this because momma knew that in order for her to live again that she had to die.  For some the death was unexpected and they are still questioning God’s choice but who are we to question him when his word clearly states “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).  When I look at granddaddy’s face and I see the suffering he has endured by being bedridden for the last few years, I sometimes wonder why God hasn’t ended his suffering, but I then realize that it’s not up to me. Maybe God still has some work for him to do from the bed that he lays in from day-to-day.  Who am I to speed up or slow down the day he chooses to pluck his flowers?  I know that it’s hard right now, but you have memories to share and recipes to cook this holiday season, so you still have something to be thankful for.

You may be drowning in a sea of bills and it seems like every time you pull yourself up that you get sucked back down, but I am here to tell you to just hold on.  You might not have the extra money you were hoping to buy that big turkey for dinner but you got your health, be thankful.  You might not have the extra money to get that honey baked ham that you wanted but you still got an appetite, be thankful.  You probably won’t make all the desserts that you normally do but all of your kids are home and healthy, be thankful.  Most of the time we have everything we need right in front of us, but we miss it looking for something else.  You know that every holiday you waste more food because folk now days don’t do leftovers but you still want to cook an overabundance of food to throw away.  You should be thanking God for giving you the sense this time to save instead of throwing away.  Nobody will think any less of you because you have 2 fewer cakes than you did last year.  All you have to do is try out a new recipe and they’ll never notice and for the ones that do, tell them to cook one and bring it.  Stop trying to act like folk will think any less of you because your funds are low because I’m sure theirs are too but they are just too proud to say.  Who cares what folk think of you, who are they?  If they had it all together then they should have hosted Thanksgiving at their house this year instead of coming to yours with their to-go plates already in a bag.  Everybody is going through some things and just because you are too, it doesn’t mean you have to look like it.  You have food on the table when some families go without all year-long, so you have something to be thankful for.

We have gotten away from being thankful during these holidays.  Now we rush through Thanksgiving in order to get to Black Friday when, if truth be told, you don’t have the money to spend any way.  We take the money for bills to go stand out in the cold at 2AM to catch a TV on sale when the store only ordered 10 to begin with.  We are pushing and shoving in a crowd of 100 people to get the best deals on stuff that we already have anyway.  We are too busy trying to get these ungrateful children everything they’ve asked for through the year and then come the Monday after Black Friday, you won’t even have gas money.  Chile, you need to wake up.  Christmas isn’t about the gifts under the tree, the tree nor the decorations.  We need to get back to the real meaning.  Start a new tradition with your family this year by staying up to watch movies, play some games, bake cookies and drink hot chocolate.  Buy a gift for a needy child or adult and give to the food bank whose shelves are empty.  Teach the children the real meaning of the holiday.  I can remember waking up on Christmas morning at grandma’s house to the smell of the turkey and ham that she cooked all night and breakfast on the stove.  She’d have the sweet potato pies cooling and her cakes already frosted, her cornbread would be in the oven for the dressing and the potato salad already in the refrigerator.  We would each have a shoe box with our name on it and inside it’ll have candy and fresh fruit that granddaddy bought from the market some days before.  The house would be filled with folk but it never seemed crowded because it was filled with love.  It wasn’t about how much was spent on the gifts and if somebody got more than me but it was about the real meaning of the season.  We’d usually go to early morning service at church so that we understood what Christmas was about before any gifts were opened. See, then we appreciated what we received and the food we ate; we had reasons to be thankful.

So, even when you don’t think you have a reason to be thankful, look around.  Go down to the Mid-South Food Bank and look at the empty shelves that have with no food and then go home and look in your refrigerator – you have something to be thankful for.  Go down to St. Jude and look at the children who are spending their holidays there, then go home and look upon the faces of your healthy kids – you have something to be thankful for.  Ride down the street in your car and look at the folks begging for change or those sleeping on the streets and then pull into your driveway, walk into your warm house, and flip a switch for power that comes on – you have something to be thankful for.  Go to the nursing homes and see some of the people who have no one to visit them but you’re complaining about your family – you have something to be thankful for.  Be thankful for what you have no matter how small or how big it is.  Somebody is praying to be in the shoes you’re in, to have the food you eat, the car you drive, the house you stay in and the family that you take for granted.  Don’t be too busy overlooking the blessings you already have wishing for those that you don’t because you might not be able to handle the storm it’ll take to get them.  Be thankful!

Daily Devotional – 11/22/11 “The pumper needs thanks too!”

There is another story that my uncle likes to tell.  The story goes, “There was once this famous organ player who traveled all around the world playing for sold out theaters and auditoriums.  Every time he would get on stage he would thank all those who’ve helped him along the way.  But each time he forgets the one person that is the most valuable to him but because he couldn’t see him all the time, he would occasionally forget him.  This was his pumper. Now the pumper was responsible for pumping the air into the organ that made the beautiful sound the organist created when he pressed on the keys.  One particular night on stage in front of a packed audience, the organist did his usual routine, but this time when he set down to press the keys, nothing came out.  He pressed again and still nothing.  Finally he looked up into the rafters of the theater and remembered the pumper.  He stood and thanked the pumper and gave him the recognition that he deserved because without the pumper he wouldn’t be able to do the job that he was so good at.  Once he acknowledged him, he was able to press on with the making of the beautiful music.”

Isn’t that something?  How many of us forget to give our pumper thanks every day?  Even though we all know that without the pumper pumping into us, we wouldn’t be able to make the sounds that comes out of us every time we pressed.  Yes, we press every time we walk, talk, laugh, cry, chew food, curse people out, gossip and backbite, etc.  Without the pumper how would we go on?  However, unlike the pumper in the story above, our pumper never gives up on us.  Even though we don’t thank him before every show, which is starting our day, he still shows up ready to work. 

See, the pumper wakes us up and give us breathe every morning, that’s pumping life into our bodies.  He gives us our right mind and activities of our limbs, that’s pumping air into our bodies.  He gives us the ability to work, go to school, care for a home and our families, that’s pumping gifts into our bodies.  He gives us the energy to withstand pressure, being talked about, lied on and being walked over, that’s pumping strength into our bodies.  He gives us a smile when we feel like crying and heals our broken hearts when folk walk away, that’s pumping joy into our bodies.  He gives us arms to hold us when mother is gone and knees to pray when the world is against us, that’s pumping comfort into our bodies.  He gives us a dance and a shout on our lips when the money is gone but bills are due, that’s pumping praise into our bodies.  Would you survive without your pumper?  Would you be the person you are today without your pumper?  Could you perform every show without the assistance of your pumper?

Some may say yes because they don’t believe in this pumper or have given up on him because he didn’t come when you needed him.  Some may even say they are better off without this said pumper because they are still living.  But don’t you know that the devil blesses just like God does?  But in order for him to bless you he still has to get permission from God.  If God created all things under the sun, don’t you think that means the devil too?  Yea, he started off being an angel in God’s camp until he got the big head, like some of us do, and wanted to run the entire show.  So, see the devil only does what God allows because we have been equipped to handle him.  Ephesians 6:13-17 says “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

I know you are probably wondering why God would allow babies to die, why he took your mom, sister, brother or spouse, why he allowed you to lose your job when he knew you needed the money or why he allowed you to get cancer when there are other folk who live worst lives that should have been punished.  Baby, God isn’t punishing you when he allows you to go through things.  He is just simply preparing you to receive what he has for you.  How else will he know if you’re capable of handling a harder task if you can’t stand the small one you’re facing?  It’s just like being on a job, you have to start from the bottom before you can reach the top (you have to learn and work your way up).  Well, it’s the same thing in climbing God’s ladder.  How will you be able to climb and endure if you can’t stand the harsh conditions you have to go through to reach the ladder? A soldier isn’t just thrown on the front line of war without first going through basic training, which is a preparing you for what you’ll face.  You will not see everything that is right in front of you, that is for you, but that’s why you must have faith.  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” 

God isn’t punishing you simply because you are facing a rough patch right now.  In order to get to the testimony you have to first go through the test.  The same way a cancer patient can’t claim to be cancer free without going through the chemo or radiation.  Every time you go through a storm, it’s simply washing off the dirt that has been thrown on you from haters, it’s washing off the mud that covered you when folk was dragging your name from here to there, it’s washing off the blood from being stabbed in your back, it’s washing off all of the signs that folk have placed on you calling you this and that and it’s preparing you to enjoy the sun that’ll shine once the storm is over.  Don’t you realize that just because you can’t see other folk struggles it doesn’t mean they aren’t going through?  If I looked like the things I’m going through I’d be tore up, hair all over my head, shoes ragged, pants with holes in them and an overall mess.  Just because your account is in the negative, your cable might be off, you got a cut-off notice for your lights and your rent is late, you don’t have to look like it.  Deuteronomy 31:8 says “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Stop taking your pumper for granted because even though he doesn’t give up like man does, he needs to be acknowledged.  If every time I walked into your house and you didn’t acknowledge me, I’d begin to think that either you’re blind or you just don’t want me there.  If it is the latter of the two, I will eventually stop coming to your house.  God deserves our thanks and our praise.  Some of us aren’t worth the mercies that he sends new every morning but we still get them.  Some of us aren’t work the strength he places in our legs, arms, hands and feet; yet he does it still.  Some of us aren’t worth the sight in our eyes, the taste in our mouth and the knowledge in our brains, yet he continues to give it.  So, isn’t he worth a simple Thank You Lord?  I surely think so and if you don’t then you may want to read your bible more.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 say “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 5:20 says “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Just because you aren’t where you are supposed to be, don’t blame God.  He has given you all the necessary requirements to be all that you can be but he won’t show up to snatch your lazy butt out the bed.  James 2:17 says “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”  You’ve got a responsibility to put your blessings into action.  You wouldn’t keep putting water into a bucket with a hole, the same way God won’t keep putting gifts into a Christian with one because it eventually all seep out.  Use what God has given you in order for him to enlarge your territory. Be grateful and thankful for what you have and use them.  If you use all the dishwashing liquid, don’t you replace it?  Well God works the same way but instead of allowing you to use it all up, he replaces it before it’s gone but the next time he adds a little more.  You should be saying “Here I am Lord, use me!”

Daily Devotional – 11/21/11 “Though the storm is raging”

When I woke up this morning to the lightning coming through the window, I had no idea rain was in the forecast because I don’t generally watch the news.  But as I heard the thunder and the rain drops fall, I couldn’t help but think of this storm as being like a storm someone is facing today.  Just like a thunderstorm and rain, a storm in your life can come and go just as quickly as clouds.  I’ve lived long enough to know that trouble comes just when it looks like all things are working out.  Your only car breaks down and it happens at the exact moment you don’t have the extra money.  Your child gets sick at the time you can’t miss work without your job being in jeopardy.  Momma or Daddy dies right after the loss of your best friend.  Can things get any worse?  Isn’t this the question that is usually asked?  Some may even say if it wasn’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all.  But who needs luck when you have faith?  Faith is being sure of what you’ve hoped for and certain of the things that we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). 

Even though you are facing a storm in your life, it can be gone just as fast as the thunder and rain coming down outside.  Even though trouble can rip through your life like a tornado, it can be gone just as fast.  Even though enemies can throw things around in your life, some things and people are taken and it looks like things will never be the same, after the storm you can rebuild.  Haven’t you noticed after a tornado when your house is blown away and all your possessions are gone, your foundation still stands? Well, if you start with a firm foundation built on God’s words, it’ll stand through the storm.  As for the things you’ve lost they can, too, be replaced.  Look at the story of Job.  After all he went through and all the things taken from him, because he did not lose his faith, all things were returned to him two (2) times greater than what he had before.   Yea, you lost your house in a fire but you can rebuild it better than you had before.  Yea, your car has been repossessed but it can be replaced with something newer and better.  Yea, your husband or wife has walked away but he or she can be replaced, with the one God has for you, who will treat you better than anyone ever has.  Yea, you lost your job because the company downsized, it was just opening up the door for your new career. 

Just because the clouds are hanging low and the darkness is overshadowing your path, it shouldn’t stop you from walking on.  The bible says in Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Just because the wind is blowing hard enough to knock your wig off, it shouldn’t stop you from going on.  Isaiah 4:6 says of God’s glory, “It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”  We all know that trouble will come into our life because it was promised and no one is immune.  But don’t give up and go into hiding.  God is able and will protect you and he’s given you the tools necessary to handle it.  Yea, your bills may be due and the holidays are here but there are ways of enjoying them without going broke.  Get back to the real meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  They can be just as enjoyable as family time rather than trying to give everybody a gift and you know you can’t afford it.  God is just what he said he is.   

God is like the Red Cross.  He’ll give you shelter.  He’ll protect you.  He’ll clothe you.  He’ll provide relief.  He’s like Allstate because you’ll always be in good hands. He’s like the Food bank because he is always open to feed you when you’re hungry.  But you have to hold on! When you are in the midst of a storm, you have to find shelter strong enough to protect you through it.  God is this shelter.  Don’t believe me, read Psalm 27:5 which say “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.” Have faith and believe in the power of pray.  It changes things because I’m a living witness!

Daily Devotional – 11/20/11 “Just in case”

On last night I had the opportunity to hang out my my sisters and friends like we normally do every month. We sat around, laughed, ate, had a few glasses of wine and talked. (Yes, christians drink too, the sin is getting drunk.) But every chance we get to spend together, I cherish. Why? Because the next minute isn’t promised. It can be any one of us, gone, at any moment. I’m thankful that out of the group, no one has been diagnosed with cancer or had a life changing car wreck. We are there for each other through marriages, breakups, illnesses, surgeries and death of loved ones because that’s what we are supposed to do. So just in case they don’t know, make sure your folk know that you love them.

I sit and I think about the fact that my momma has 4 girls and neither one of us has been diagnosed with cancer or been killed at the hands of an abusive boyfriend, because it’s usually like 1 in 4 or something close. (God is good and we are beyond blessed.) When I look into their faces, I think that it could possibly be one of them and they are probably thinking the same thing when they look at me. But God! I’m not worried about cancer no more than I worry about the arguments that we have because you can be mad at me for a few days but afterwards it’s over and let’s move on. The world is changing so fast around us and we are dealing with so much more stress, the last thing I want is strife between my sisters. So just in case I haven’t told them lately I’ll be sure to tell them today that I love them, no matter what.

We have to stop taking time for granted. Yes, time can be taken for granted just like husbands, wives and friends can. We think that we’ll have time to fix relationships and right the wrongs but what happens when you don’t? You will probably become a bitter and angry person who no one wants to be around. Well there’s no sense in that. Swallow your pride and apologize for the things you’ve done and move on. Stop being mad at daddy because he wasn’t there, let it go. Stop being mad at momma because she made you cook and clean when you were young and while she worked because you should appreciate it now. Stop being mad at your friend who stopped giving you their last because it should make you get off your lazy butt and work. Stop being mad at the job for firing you when you barely showed up and when you did, you were late and half worked. Just in case you haven’t realized the world doesn’t have a burger king mentality, you can’t always have it your way. Get over it!

The bible promises you all that you need and it is a phone call away. Not a physical phone call because that line would always be busy but a spiritual phone call. All you have to do is talk to God just like you’re having a normal conversation. He has promised all that you need but you’ve got to ask. Now, this isn’t a genie type thing and just because you wish for it, it won’t magically appear. But God will show up right when you need him, when you trust him. So, just in case you don’t know, let me tell you. The world will tear you down, chew you up, spit you out and drag you to hell and back daily, this was promised. So stop acting like you’re the only one struggling because you’re not. Stop acting like you’re the only one with a broken heart because you’re not. Stop acting like you’re the only one with cancer or a disease because you’re not. People face life changing news everyday but most take it, stand firm and handle the situation. Yea, I know that you think I got it all together but baby I live in the same world like you. I face day to day struggles every day just like you, I’m not exempt because I’m a child of God using a gift that he has given me. If anything, it makes my struggles harder because the devil is even more busy in my life. But I’m strong and I can handle it. So just in case you didn’t know, I feel pain and I hurt just like you but I won’t let it stop me. Just in case you don’t know pity is by itself and if you got pity in your mouth all the time you’ll be by yourself. Just in case you don’t know let me tell you, you’re not alone so stop acting like it.

Daily Devotional – 11/19/11 “What’s going on?”

On last night my cousin Nicole, aunt Evelyn and myself hosted an old fashion lock-in at our church. We have 15 children and they are thoroughly enjoying themselves. As I listened to the laughing and music from them at 2AM this morning, it reminded me of the times we use to enjoy things like this growing up. You know when the older folk in the church really cared about children. You had the Angelic Choir and the Youth & Young Adults and the genuinely cared. We had Vacation Bible School every summer and you didn’t have a choice whether to go or not. You went to church with grandma and you’d better not go to sleep or act up because she would pinch you so hard and then tell you not to cry. Kids didn’t chew gum in church and the ushers could actually say something to them if they did. Lord, where are those times?

See, then you had grandmothers who cared so they raised mothers who cared. Kids came home and did homework before going outside. They did chores and they didn’t play in their school clothes. You didn’t have to threaten them to behave because then the neighbors could whoop butts. They didn’t have cell phones and computers so they actually talked face to face with their friends. They went outside to play but now girls can’t do cart wheels and boys don’t know how to really play with girls. Lord, where has the time gone?

Summers were spent at grandma’s house and parents didn’t have to worry about summer camp because you could play in the streets without a fear of being run over by a drunk driver. We couldn’t wait to be done with chores because then everybody would meet outside. You had games like concentration, hide-go-seek, 4 square and dodge ball. Girls were taught how to clean a house and boys how to tend to the yard. Girls were taught how to cook a meal while the boys went to work with daddy or granddaddy. Lord, where are those types of parents?

Where is the teachings that were instilled in us as children? We weren’t so selfish and ungrateful as our kids are now. We used to be scared to bring a C home on report cards but now children don’t have a clue on how important school is. If we got in trouble at school you walked extra slow to get home because you knew what will be waiting when you got there. But now parents are afraid of their children when they should be scared of you. When you were disrespectful to momma you’d be scared to hear daddy’s truck pull in because you knew she would tell and daddy’s hands were as hard as bricks.

But know we have a “don’t care” attitude. I don’t care what they do. I don’t care what they say. I don’t care where they go or who they go with. I don’t care if they fail because that’s them. I don’t care what they wear. But baby let me tell you, you need to care because somebody cared about your dusty butt. Yea, they are ungrateful because we’ve made them that way. Yea, they don’t care about school because we don’t hold them accountable. Yea, they are disrespectful because we’ve allowed them to be. But it’s never too late to start. All of your bill money you’re about to spend on Christmas, pay your bills and teach them the real meaning of Christmas. The cell phones, take them and get them some library cards. The disrespectful mouths, stop feeding them all the fast food and junk, buy groceries and let them eat at home. Failing in school, use their extra time in tutoring before and after school. Stop buying all the name brand clothes and expensive shoes and please STOP using the excuse that you want them to have more than you did. That’s the problem now. I didn’t have half of the stuff they did but I bet I can take $8 and make a meal, I know how to talk & act in public and be respectful to others especially adults.

I loved the Saturday mornings with momma when she would have the Old School Jams playing while we cleaned the house, laughing over breakfast and sitting on the porch. I miss the Sunday mornings when we would walk to the store for a newspaper, cold cuts, crackers and chips. I miss those times because they made me who I am. I miss those times because they added character to my life.

I sure do wish these kids could experience some of the things we did and maybe just maybe they wouldn’t be as bad as they are. Parents, let’s pray for each other and stop upholding your child in their wrong. If they are wrong, discipline them and stop acting like they never do wrong when they are the Tasmanian devil at home. Let’s get back to parenting the right way before we lose this generation because it’s happening fast.

Grandma maybe dead and gone but not what she taught you. Use what you know and stop accepting anything. You do know that when God wasn’t pleased with the world before he sent the rain to wipe it out. But if you read your word then you should know that it’ll be fire next time. I don’t know about you but I’m trying to get my business straight and it’s starting today.