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.

Daily Devotional – 11/18/11 “Watch your mouth!”

On last night my sister was singing this song by the Chicago Mass Choir entitled “I pray we’ll all be ready,” and when I got up this morning the song was still in my head.  I had to go to YouTube to listen to it because I wanted to get the real meaning.  I couldn’t understand why God was leading me this way but of course I obeyed.  Then I logged into Facebook to see some folk’s statuses and talked to some folk at work and then I knew exactly why God was leading me this way. 

The song simply says:

I pray we’ll all be ready
I pray we’ll all be ready for his return
I pray that we’ll get our business straight
So we can all meet at the gate
I pray we’ll all be ready for his return

Hmph!  Don’t you know that mouth of yours can write a check your butt can’t cash?  Let me show you.  You get pissed off at your boss because of an email that was sent to the entire group, not just you, so you go into his/her office ranting & raving about how tired you are of this and how you are always being picked on.  You’re talking so fast that you’ve yet to realize that you’re talking yourself out of your job and by the time you see the mess you’ve stepped in, it’s too late.  You’ve just fell into quick sand and no one is around to pull you out.  Now, you’re packing up the few things you got at your desk to go home and explain to your husband how you actually lost your job.  You need to watch your mouth!

You’re over at your girlfriend’s house complaining about your husband.  He’s smothering me, he always doing everything, I can’t even pump my own gas or he’s always around.  But didn’t you pray for a provider, a husband that God said was yours?  You don’t understand why he doesn’t want you to hang out every weekend with your friends or why they are always hanging at your house.  Then you say, “I just wish he would leave me alone.”  Now, he’s fed up with your lack of concern for him and your marriage.  He has done all he can do but you say you don’t need to change.  He files for divorce and you don’t fight it because you got your girls and they are probably saying “Girl, he ain’t no good no way, you can do better,” so now you’re alone.  A few months later you see him in the store but wait, he isn’t alone because the person pushing his basket is the same friend that was listening to all the complaining you were doing.  You need to watch your mouth!

You get mad at your family because you feel like they treat you differently from everybody else.  You always got something to say about this person and that person and you could care less who your words hurt because this is you.  You always begging and looking for a handout but the minute they say no, you curse them out.  You sit around and talk to your sisters and they tell you stuff in confident but the minute you get mad and stuff isn’t going your way, you spill everything because again, it’s all about you.  You don’t care that she asked you not to tell, she shouldn’t have made you mad.  Your mouth runs more than a MLGW meter but you say, this is me and it’s who I am.  You find joy in cursing folk out through text message and a phone call and you find no fault in any of it because it is who you are.  But then a day later, you need that same person who you called every name but their own.  You need that person who business you spread on Facebook.  You need that person whose husband you called and told them what you think you saw.  But guess what, just like you are tired so are they so they press ignore on their phone and the help they normally give isn’t there anymore.  Now, what will you do?  You need to watch your mouth!

Don’t be quick to put your mouth on folk.  When God said in 1st Chronicles 16:22 “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm,” he wasn’t just speaking about Pastors, Bishops and Elders, because anoint means to dedicate to the service of God and if you’re dedicated to him, then he is speaking about you.  So just because I put up “Godly” statuses, speak a few scriptures here and there or sometimes pray for you, you say I’m acting Holier than thou, you are putting your mouth on me.  When you defame my name by spreading lies and gossip, you’re putting your mouth on me.  When you talk about Pastor So & So, you’re putting your mouth on God’s anointed.  When you talk about Deacon Do Right, you’re putting your mouth on God’s anointed.  When you talk about Sis Shirley’s clothes and hair, you are putting your mouth on God’s anointed.  No matter how a person lives outside of worship service, it isn’t for you to judge them.  Matthew 7:1 says “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” But who are you anyway?  Who are you to judge how my life is lived?  Just because I won’t wallow in your pit of pity, it doesn’t make me more than you.  Just because I won’t be mad at Momma for the stuff she use to do, it doesn’t make me less than you.  Just because I don’t look like I’m struggling, it doesn’t mean I have more than you.  Just because our paths were separated and I went one way and you went another, it doesn’t mean I don’t know where I came from.  What it means is I’m not letting my past define me.  Baby these scars that I have, whether they are visible or not, on my skin made me who I am.  Whatever you’ve been through, going through or about to go through, don’t let it take you out.  But you’ve got to stop blocking your own blessings by running your mouth.  When you are mad at someone, pray and let the situation cool down before you react because the words that come out your mouth can’t be taken back.  When someone has let you down, pray and let them go because the words that you speak cannot be taken back and words can cut deeper than any knife.  Be careful what you say and who you say it too.  That person you’re talking about today could be the one saving your life tomorrow.  You need to watch your mouth because you have the power of life and death in your tongue. 

“You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.” Romans 2:1

Daily Devotional – 11/17/11 “You might want to change if …”

I’ve always wondered about the saying a zebra never changes it stripes and why it is often referred to people who try to change.  Now, I would think that a zebra’s stripes wouldn’t change because if they did then it wouldn’t be considered a zebra right? But if a man or woman changes their ways does that make them turn into something other than a man or woman?  The answer would be no because their physical appearance wouldn’t change (unless they had plastic surgery) but their mind should and in changing their mind, their actions should change.  You should be able to see a change in them by the way they walk, talk, dress and feel.  The change I am referring to is a mental change on the inside and not a physical change that money can buy.

Let me explain.  You’re a man who finds laughter in the belittling of your wife.  You can never give her a compliment so instead you give her an insult.  When she asks you how she looks in her dress, you laugh and say she would look better if she dropped a few pounds.  She asked you how was dinner and you say it was better when your momma cooked it.  Now, you may have been raised by your dad that way or there was probably not a man around to teach you how to treat a woman but I’m here to tell you that just because you don’t give her a compliment, doesn’t mean she isn’t getting one.  That dress and perfume she asked you about when you weren’t paying her any attention caught the eyes of her co-worker who happens to step in just when she is feeling low.  That dinner you hate so much, someone else will find pleasure in enjoying it.  The affection you’ve seemed to have forgotten to show, someone else will find joy in taking your place.   Someone else will find a treasure in the one you’ve treated like trash and taken for granted.  Yea, she probably has stuck with your lowdown butt for 20 years, but the door still opens to go out. So, you may want to read God’s word that says He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD (Proverbs 18:22).  So you might want to change if she is longer affected by the insults and the lack of what she needs from you because that means that she has changed. 

You’re a son or daughter whose mother takes care of your every need.  No, let me rephrase.  You’re a grown son or daughter whose mother takes care of your every need.  You moved out of her house but she still stops by to clean, cook and do your laundry from time to time.  When she is out shopping she picks up things she think you may need.  You don’t know how to take care of your own space because she has never allowed you to learn things like making up your bed or cleaning a kitchen or bathroom.  She bails you out when you get in trouble and she gives you extra money when you want to hang out with your friends.  She even accepted the fact that college wasn’t for you even after she wasted the money on your tuition.  When she calls you for a favor, you got your mouth stuck out.  Because she woke you up at 10 on Saturday to ask you to cut her grass or go pay a bill for her, you got the nerve to get an attitude.  When she needs a little extra money for groceries you tell your friends that she is always begging.  When she was telling you that girl or guy wasn’t any good for you but you married him/her anyway only to be divorced a year later, you’ll wished you had listened.  Baby, I can promise you that momma won’t always be there.  It may seem like all will be ok when she is gone, but wake up the day after she dies and tell me if you feel the same.  Those small things that you took for granted will have you wishing 100 times for another chance to apologize to momma.  Those moments when you didn’t appreciate her will have you sobbing in a corner like a baby after she is gone.  Yes, it’s a mother’s job to take care and nourish their children but you as children also have a commitment.  Deuteronomy 5:16 say “Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” So, you might want to change if you act like a spoiled brat even though you are over 30.  Trust me, it isn’t a good look.

You’ve been working on your job for what seems like forever.  You’re older now and don’t like change.  You didn’t like your old boss and you don’t like the new one.  With every change comes lip and attitude from you.  When you walk into the meeting, folks rolled their eyes because they know you are coming in with some mess.  You always complain about this and you complain about that and you get up every morning, get dressed, and drive away from your home only to come into a place that is causing you so much Hell.  Other folks aren’t seeing the same things you complain about so you call them crazy.  You go home gripping to your spouse and/or kids about your day never once giving them an opportunity to get a word in about their day.  You keep saying you’re going to find another job but you know deep down inside that no one will hire your crazy tail.  You come & go as you please from your current job, call in when you want, never complete the assignments given and always argue with coworkers and you think you need a new job.  Chile, you have yet to realize that you’re the problem.  You bring the damper to the workplace but you’re quick to say moral is down.  No, it’s not the morale that needs to be raised but it’s your butt from your seat that needs to be.  Be careful who you tell your woes too because they may be the one signing your pink slip.  Proverbs 18:24 say “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.  Yea, you may want to change if you stopped getting invitations to anything from co-workers a long time ago.   

You may want to change if you party, drink and smoke every day because one of these days that body that you are destroying won’t last.  “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself.” (1 Corinthians 6:19)  Now, God didn’t say don’t drink because 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” But it doesn’t say get drunk, talk stupid, fight folk, destroy relationships and not be able to work because a man that don’t work is not supposed to eat.  Well, that’s what the bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10.   When you make a change in any aspect of your life, for the better, you tend to lose folk.  I didn’t say you lose friends because if they were true friends they would want better for you and will gladly welcome the change. 

You might want to change if you can hardly breathe but you’re still smoking.  Yea, you’ve heard people say that you can get lung cancer even if you don’t smoke but honey you are surely increasing your chances.  You might want to change if you can barely walk from the weight that you’re carrying but still spending 6 days for 2 hours each at a buffet.  That’s why your blood pressure is up and you can’t see your feet.  Yea, I know that obesity runs in your family but can’t you break the curse?  All it takes is a 30 minute walk and changing your eating habits.  You might want to change if trouble and gossiping don’t start until you come around because you may be the one bringing it.   

Changing your ways won’t kill you.  It may make you look better but it won’t kill you.  If every time you go out and you’re the loudest most embarrassing person in the bunch, you might just want to change.  No one is telling you this because they are scared to hurt your feelings but this is why no one wants to hang out anymore.  They are hanging out just without you.  If you are always begging and never offer or is even there to help when other folks need, you might just want to change because this is the reason your call is being ignored.  If every time you do something for somebody or the Pastor asks you to lead a task and you boast and brag about it for months afterwards, you might want to change because this is the reason why folk stop calling you.  If every time we talk as friends and you spread my business faster than windshield wipers in rain then you might just want to change because this is why we don’t talk anymore.  If every time I come around you have to talk about my personal appearance to make yourself look good, you might just want to change because this is the reason I don’t stop by anymore. 

You may like the person that you have become with your mean & nasty ways, comments of negativity and dirty looks but it doesn’t mean I have too.  If thanksgiving use to be at your house and folk couldn’t wait to get there and now everyone has plans, you might just want to take a moment to reflect over yourself because sometimes it will put you in the place you need to be.  If I tell you something about you that you do and it makes you look ugly, if I am a true friend, then you should welcome the criticism.  Stop getting mad every time someone says something.  You knew that hair color was wrong before you left the salon so don’t get mad at me for saying it.  You knew your shoes were too little when you paid too much for them so don’t get mad at me for saying it.  You knew that boy wasn’t baby daddy or husband material when you laid down with him so don’t get mad at me for saying it.  You knew that girl was a garden tool when you took her home, so don’t get mad at me for saying it.  Yes, criticism sometimes hurt but if it is coming from the heart of a true friend then it should be received gladly.  If you know you need to change then ask God to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)”  For it will be then that your change would not be in vain.