If I knew Then...

How many times have we all said this? Too many. As I was driving down the road the other morning, I couldn’t help but thinking about all of the times that I had faced adversity. I was thinking about the problems I had faced and the way that I had responded to them. Suddenly, it came to me. If I had just responded the right way, things would have gone different. If I had just turned to God sooner!

I knew how to pray at the time of the adversity. But, did I ask God show me how to respond to the problem? Did I ask him to lead me around the mountain instead of trying to trek over it?

I am just so thankful that I now have a better understanding of who I am in Christ. I know that as a child of God I have a right to take my problems to the throne and expect them to be answered. I have the assurance that God hears me and that he is working everything for my good. I have learned to accept that adversities will come, but I don’t have to react negatively. I don’t have to stress out. I should take my problems~my questions to God immediately instead of trying to figure things out myself.

Yes, it can be trying during the waiting time. But, it is so much better to wait for God to give me the answer. It is better to allow him to guide me.

I used to get frustrated when I talked to someone about my problems and all he/she could tell me to do was to “pray”. I remember thinking, “Yeah, right. I know how to pray. I tried that already.” I now realize that although I had prayed, I did not give God time to answer. If an answer did not come immediately, I thought that God was ignoring me or that he just didn’t care about my problem. I can see now that he did care. I can see that he heard me when I first prayed. Just like with Daniel, he sent the answer, but sometimes it is held up.

If I knew then what I know now, I would not have spent so many sleepless nights. I would not have worried so much. I would have responded better. I would have guarded my tongue. I would have fasted more. I would have looked with spiritual eyes and seen the army of the Lord. I would have remembered that the battle was not mine but God’s.

Thank God for lessons learned!

Careless Words: We Must Learn to Bridle Our Tongues

Careless Words

It is amazing how much we can learn about God from children. As I watch my students each day, I learn so many lessons from them until it is almost mindboggling. Just the other day I learned 2 valuable ones from one of my students. This is the first one. Careless words can hurt and they can destroy.

I know you are probably thinking that we all know that. True. But, it is still a lesson worth repeating. Children don’t seem to realize that the little thing in their mouths called a tongue can get them into a world of trouble. The Bible says in James 3: 4-7: Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.…

One of my students learned this lesson after she decided to announce to the class how much she wished I would go away. This little announcement came as the result of my correcting her inappropriate behavior. Once the words were out of her mouth, the write up slip was filled out and sent to the principal’s office. Next, the call was made to her coach and to her parent. In the end, she was severely punished for not controlling her tongue.

Yes, we all get angry. Yes, we all think evil thoughts at times. Sometimes those evil thoughts are about our boss, our co-workers, our fellow church members, and even our spouses. However, we don’t just say these things out loud. If we did, it could have disastrous results. We could lose our jobs, our spouses, and our places in society. There are so many marriages and relationships that have been brought to ruins over careless words~careless whispers. So, what do we do?

First, as Christians, we learn to bridle our tongues. We pray and ask God to help us when our boss or our spouse or our co-worker is getting on our last nerves. We ask him to show us why we don’t like our neighbors. You would be surprised at the answer.

This brings me to the second thing we must do: Pray. Several years ago there was a nurse that I worked with. Without knowing why, I talked about her negatively all the time. I was constantly pointing out her faults and talking down about her to my family and friends. One day, this question popped into my head: “Why does this woman irritated you so much?” I stopped and gave this question some serious thought. Then, the answer came to me.

 I didn’t like this young woman because I was jealous of her. I was jealous of the fact that she didn’t have children and could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. I had a small child, and my activities centered around caring for him. I was jealous of the fact that she had more money left over after she paid her bills. I was jealous of the fact that her parents had bought her a car, and my parents had not been able to do the same for me. I had had to purchase my own car and pay my own bills. Yes, I was jealous.

Once this reality came to me, I learned to control my tongue, and I stopped talking about her. I prayed and God showed me that I also had many things to be thankful for.

The tongue is such a dangerous thing. It can lead us to success or it can lead us to death. We must learn to choose our words wisely.

The Sound of Your Footsteps: Thunder is Coming

 

Thunder and lightning raced across the sky yesterday, and my poor students were scared stiff. The lights were blinking on and off, and my students demanded that I go ahead and cut them off. They also wanted me to close the blinds (which isn’t possible, by the way) and be very quiet. Although his was kind of funny, I could understand their fear. I had also been taught to be very quiet when “God was doing his business”. But, what I thought about when all of this was happening was how God can turn our footsteps into thunder.

There is a story in the Bible in 2 Kings Chapter 7 that tells of four lepers. They were sitting outside the city. There was an army coming. So, they reasoned with themselves saying, “Why do we sit here until we die?  "If we say, 'We will enter the city,' then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, we will but die.” These men got up and went walking toward the enemy’s camp and sure death. But, a strange and wonderful thing happened while they were on their way. The Lord magnified their footsteps and the arm of Syrians thought that a great multitude was coming up against them. So, army quickly fled. When the lepers entered the camp, there were no soldiers there only all of the rich that the army had left behind. God had multiplied their footsteps. God had given their footsteps the sound of thunder.

I am so glad that when I face trouble or adversity God had given me the sound of thunder. My very footsteps can cause my enemies to flee. Although they may come up against me like a flood, they shall not prosper. I am a king’s kid. I have the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy.

Get ready for thunder!

2 Kings 7:3-9

Flowers on the Floor: Learning to Let Go of Painful Relationships

 

It is amazing how many women are hurting because of the things that a man has done. And, don’t get me wrong. I have not been an exception. We have all been in love with someone who just didn’t seem to appreciate us or recognize our value.

Summer comes with a wide variety of beautiful flowers. There are daisies, black-eyed susans, magnolia blooms, lilies, violets, and baby’s breath just to name a few. These flowers are beautiful, but they become ugly and stink once they have been crushed. When I think of the way we are once someone has hurt us, I think of flowers on the floor. I think of beautiful flowers that have been crushed underneath some uncaring person’s foot. This person did not stop to see the beauty of the flower. He only hurried about his business. And, so many times, he never looks back to see what he has done or who he has hurt. We have cast pearls before swine.

We must learn how to identify swine. We must learn how to get out of the hog pen and move forward. Yes, he may have talked good in the beginning. Maybe he was great in the beginning, but that time has passed. You have lost your value to him. And, no amount of crying or begging will get him to change his mind. So, stop throwing your pearls to him. Stop offering up yourself on his bed on sacrifice thinking that if I just give him more love, more sex, or more money he will love me again. He won’t. He will enjoy the sex. He will use your money. But, he will never see the pearls. He will never realize how much you are giving up just for him.

Yes, one day he may come to himself. But, dear sister, that day is not today. He is no longer your Romeo. He is not your Superman. He is now your abuser. He is verbally abusive. He is emotionally unavailable. He forgets your birthday, anniversary, or other important dates. He would rather hang out with his friends or the new chick he just met. You know the one who is turning him on for the moment. Believe me. It is just for the moment. So, what do you do?

Stop answering his calls or texts. Stop giving him sex whenever he wants it. Move out of his house or put him out of yours. Pick up your pearls~your beautiful flowers~move forward. Give the pain and hurt to God. He can heal you. A real man loves God and is obedient to his word. And, if he loves God, he will treat you like the princess (remember you are a king’s kid) that you are.

Matthew 7: 6

God Is Our CTRL, ALT, Delete

 

CTRL, ALT, Delete

The other day I was working on my desktop computer, and it started to act up. I thought to myself, “Okay, another virus”. I watched the little circle go around, and around, and around. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to purchase a new one right now, and I still had pictures from my photo business saved on it. It is also the one I use to do my printing and pictures. I said, “God, if this thing would just stop long enough for me to savage my photos”.

Then, it came to me. Press CTRL, ALT, Delete. I wondered what that would do, but I followed the prompting in my spirit. I pressed the buttons. The computer instantly stopped doing what it was doing and went back to working as normal. I looked at the computer and realized that God is like the CTRL, ALT, Delete buttons. He is in control even when we aren’t. He knows how to bring things back in line and create order where there is chaos. While we are trying so hard to figure things out, God already has the answer. He knows the ending from the beginning.

I know it is hard sometimes to let God have his way. Well, it is for me. We want to control everything. We want to be in charge of our lives. We think we know what is best for us, but we don’t. We don’t know the things that God knows. He has searched the heart of man. He knows there every thought.

So, stop trying to control everything. Give it to God. He knows how to fix our broken dreams and mend our hurts. He knows how to bring safety and security in the mist of the storms in your life. Trust in him and lean not to your own understanding. Stop staring at the computer screen wondering what to do. Call on God and He will answer you. He will bear you up lest you dash your foot against a rock.

 

Proverbs 3: 5

Psalms 91: 15

Jeremiah 33:3

Isaiah 65:24

Learning How to Submit to God

 

It is my belief that submission and black women don’t easily mix. I say this because I am a black woman, and I know how hard it is to submit. This is especially true for single black women. This submission can be to a man, to God, or to our bosses. It is hard. Why?

Submission means to surrender our will to the authority of another. It means giving up what we want to do the will of another. And, for some African American women like myself this is so difficult. It is difficult for me because I have been single all my life. As a result, I have had to learn how to think for myself and for my children.  I have had to make all of the hard decision, to go the tire shop and bargain for tires, and to the car lot and try to get a good deal even though I knew the odds were against me. There was no man to do this for me.

So, when you ask an independent woman to lay down all those years of training~to give up doing what she sees as best in order to service God or to be obedient to a husband~you are almost expecting a miracle. But, thank God for miracles.

It has taken me all these years to see that my way is not always right. As God said, His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts. He knows what I don’t know and he sees what I don’t see. I have had to remember this when things don’t go my way, when I don’t get the car I want, or the man I believe is just the one for me. I have to remember this when my job is not going as I would like and I think about giving up. I have to remember this instead of running away from the job, the problem, or the circumstance. I have to stop focusing on myself and focus on God and his wisdom. He knows the end results. He sees that man’s heart. He knows why I am at the job I am at and why. Nothing happens by accident. All things work toward the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. God knows.

So, I am learning that instead of struggling or having one of my temper tantrums to trust God. I am learning to say “It is okay. I will obey.”

It is my belief that this is the reason God allowed me to be single for so long. In all honesty, if I had married before now, I am sure it would have ended in disaster.  I had to learn to trust people. I had to learn to stop reacting negatively to situations and trying to make things work according to my own will. I had to realize that there is a higher power.

Although it is often difficult, I am learning to submit to God. I am learning to stop trying to be so independent and learn to depend on God.

Hungry Again

 

I can remember being sick a few weeks before school was out for the summer. I had a headache and felt dizzy. I later realized that I had waited too long to eat. I had a hungry headache, and believe me, it wasn’t a good feeling. When I finally did eat, I couldn’t seem to get full. I ate, went to bed, and woke during the night hungry. I nibbled on crackers and went back to bed again. When I got up the next morning, I was still starving. After a few hours and some breakfast, this finally wore off. Strange, huh? But, what does this have to do with God?

So often we hunger for God, but we don’t recognize that hunger. We know we need something, but we just don’t know what. We think we need another drink…another car…a new house…to have another affair…to find a new man or woman. We don’t realize that what we are longing for is God. We are not longing for financial things or physical relief. We are longing to be held in God’s loving arms. We need a closer relationship with him. Things will never be able to fill that void. That is why after we have had that drink, we are still thirst. After that affair or midnight rendezvous, we are still lonely. We need a closer relationship with Jesus. So, yes, we are hungry again after we have over-eat and over-indulged. Things and people can never replace God.

And, yes, I am guilty too. I am guilty of trying to satisfy a spiritual need with a physical one. Earlier in my walk with God, I did not know how to recognize this longing for what it really was. I thank God that now I am able to realize that I need him. I need God. Just as Jesus explained to the woman at the well, He has living water and if you drink of it, you will never thirst again.

The woman at the well: John 4: 7-30

Out of your belly: John 7: 38

Get Out of the Hog Pen!

One of my favorite stories from the Bible is the one about the Prodigal Son. He is the young man who asked his father for all of the inheritance that he was to get, and then left home. He went out and wasted his money on riotous living~basically, he partied all of his time and money away. When he got completely broke and without friends or food, he found himself in the hog pen feeding hogs. It was then that he realized how far from grace he had fallen. He gets up and heads back home to his father.

There are times in my life when I feel so close to God. I love him and I can feel his unconditional love for me. My heart is just overjoyed. I begin to think that there is nothing that can separate us. Then, I continue living. Then, I run into a bump in the road. I find myself lured into places I shouldn’t be. I fall down. I discover myself in the hog pen.

I become angry with myself for having made stupid mistakes~for yielding to temptation. Hey, don’t judge. God saw you when you ate that piece of chocolate cake when you were supposed to be on a diet.

It is then that I come to myself. I look around and realize that I am in the hog pen. I have wandered off from my Father’s house. I am no longer at the palace. I am in mud. It is at that moment that I cry out to my Father to forgive me and save me. I confess my sins. I crawl out of the hog pen. I spray myself off, change my clothes, and return to my Father.

My God is just to forgive us. He is willing and able to restore us unto him. So, if you find yourself in the hog pen~if you have fallen down, don’t just stay there and wallow in the mess. Get up. Ask for forgiven and head back to the palace.

As the songwriter said, “A saint is just a sinner who fall down and got up.”

Luke 15: 11-32                                                                                    Joel 2: 25

Did You Forget the Miracles in Egypt?

Don't Go Back to Egypt

It is amazing how soon we forget the goodness of our God. He performs miracles for us daily, but in our selfishness, we don’t appreciate them. All we can see is what we don’t have or what we didn’t get. Like the children of Israel, we begin to long to return to our captivity. We wonder where the figs, the pomegranates, the leeks, and vines are. We beg to go back to the place we are familiar with. We forget the cruelty of our old slave masters.

No, we didn’t have literal masters like the children of Israel. However, we have old masters: drug addicts, alcoholism, foul language, filthy minds, illicit affairs, and other sexual sins. These things gave us quick but temporary relieve. We have forgotten the miracles in Egypt. We forget that God split the Red Sea. We forget that we were actually slaves to our old habits. We forget how we cried out to God to save us. Now, when we hit a few rough bumps in our Christian walk, we want to run back out into the world. We grumble and complain.

Yes, I am guilty of this. There have been times when I looked longingly back on my old life. I remembered all the fun but forgot all the pain and hurt of my past. I forgot how long it took me to get up from the hog pin. As I have matured as a Christian, I realize how foolish this is. When I truly think about it, I realize I don’t want to go back to Egypt. I no longer want to be a slave to past desires.

Instead of complaining because I haven’t received my blessing yet, I need to be patient. I need to remember the miracles that I saw in my Egypt.  My God is able to supply all of my needs.

Numbers 20: 1-5

Philippians 4: 19

Recognizing God's Blessings

 

It is so amazing how we miss our blessings because we are looking for something else. I have a guy friend who is thinking about settling down. He has been dating his current girlfriend for a number of years, and he feels that it is time to make a commitment. But-there is almost always a “but”-there is a problem. He is not sure that she is the one. Yes, he loves her. Yes, he enjoys her company. However, there is this little gnawing feeling on the inside. What is it?

It is the voice of God. This “feeling” he is having is the Lord trying to tell him that she is not the right woman for him. I can see it. And, so can our other friends. He has just convinced himself that his girl must be the one. Besides, she has been with him all these years. Right?

What he has failed to realize is that God has already answered his prayer for a wife. It is not in the woman he seems so determined to place himself with. He recent met a nice, young lady. This lady is pretty, smart, and shares a lot of the same interests as him. He is very attracted to her. She is very attracted to him. The young lady has confessed to him how she feels and indicated that she would like to explore a relationship with him. My friend has admitted to the young lady and to me that he feels drawn to her. She is a Christian and so is he. However, because he has spent years dating the first lady, he feels obligated to stay with her. I love my friend and fear that he will miss his blessing.

I remember one of T.D. Jake’s sermons where he talked about when we ask God for oak trees sometimes he gives us an acorn. He went on to explain that often we are too blind to realize that the oak tree is nesting inside the acorn. So, we miss the blessing. We don’t realize that God has already answered.

How often have we prayed for a job and yet turned down jobs because they were what we felt we deserved? Did we not realize that God sent us a job? However, it was not the job we wanted. How many times have we asked God to bless us with a new car but didn’t like the one he allowed us to have?

I am single. But, don’t fool yourself; I have been in serious relationships. I hear women all the time complain about not being able to find a good man. I haven’t had that problem. I have had good men. The problem was me. I was not good to them. They were “too nice” or “just not my type”. How often did I leave behind men who would have been good to me? Since I have learned to walk closer with God I realize that I missed a lot of my blessings looking for what I thought was the ideal man.

I pray my friend doesn’t miss an opportunity. Yes, his current girlfriend will probably be a decent wife~if he marries her. But, how much better suited is this beautiful young lady? How much happier would he be if he would open his heart and listen to the voice of God!

Let us not despise the day of small beginnings. Let us learn to listen to the small, still voice of God. Let us recognize our true blessings when they come. Let us know when God has answered.

Zechariah 4:10

For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel-- these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth."

 

Jeremiah 5:21
Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:

Ezekiel 12:2
"Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.

Mark 4:12
so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"

Even Flawed

 

I found a blouse the other day. It was plaid and so soft. It was a little too big, but I liked it a lot. I had only worn it once, but I was really looking forward to wearing it again. However, once I washed it, some red spots faded onto it. I did all I could to get the stains out. I washed it several times. I applied stain remover over and over. But, no such luck. The stains faded, but they didn’t come out. I was tempted to throw the blouse away, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Since the stains are in the back, I decide to keep the blouse. I could always wear a jacket over it.

Then, it came to me. God truly loves us. He loves us in spite of our faults. The fact is~we will never get it all right. We will make mistakes. We will fall down. But, luckily for us, God don’t throw us away because we are spotted. He works on us just like I did the blouse. He gives us a second and even a third and fourth chance. Even with all of our flaws, he loves us. He loves us so much that he gave his only begotten son to save us. Thank God for his grace and mercy.

There is a Blessing in the Crumbs

 

In All Things Be Thankful

No one wants to live on crumbs. I know I don’t. However, I will admit there have been times when it felt like that is just what I was surviving on~crumbs. I wasn’t eating the fat of the land. I wasn’t lending. I was borrowing. I wasn’t feeling like the daughter of a king. I was feeling like the beggar Lazarus. I was barely keeping my head above water. And, I was a little upset that I had to settle for crumbs. However, when I learned more about God, I learned more about crumbs.

God was teaching me humility. He was breaking my pride and self-reliance. He was teaching me to lean and depend on him. I learned that God can bless crumbs. He can multiply crumbs just as he multiplied the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.

Now, just as the Canaanite woman begged Jesus to give her even the crumbs. I have learned to thank God for the crumbs. Why? Because the crumbs that fall from my master’s table are blessed. And, since I am his child, I will not eat crumbs forever.

 

Matthew 15: 21-28

Shout Now!!!

 

Don't Wait for the Blessing: Shout Now!!!

As Christians, we walk by faith and by sight. We are to trust that God has provided for us everything that we need. I am excited today because I know I am on the verge of a blessing. And, so are you. Amen! I am not going to wait until I see my blessing. I am going to do as the Children of Israel did.  They marched around Jericho, and they shouted praise even before the walls came down. God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations. He gave thanks before Isaac was born. We have to trust that God will do just what he promised. He is not a man that he should lie; nor the son of man that he should repent. He said it and indeed he shall bring it to pass. I am going to shout now.

Numbers 23: 19 (not a man that he should lie)

Joshua 6:15-17

Genesis 17: 1-27

2 Corinthians 5: 7 (walk by faith)

Something of Value

 

The Things We Value We Protect

It is amazing how everyday things can teach you about God. I learned about God from my purse today. While in the ladies room, I was searching for a place to put my purse. I refused to place my purse on any surface that was not clean. It was then that I realized just how much I valued my croc leather Dooney and Burke purse.

I remember the first time I saw a Dooney and Burke purse. My aunt purchased one when she first became an RN. I had to be about 10 years old, and I was fascinated by the pretty green leather. I remember knowing that the purse was very expensive. I wanted one, but I knew my mother would never buy me one. It would be years before I could afford a designer purse.

As I finally found a place to set my purse, it came to me. The things that we value we protect. We are careful with them. If a person values us, then they treat us with care and respect.

 How often have we settled for people who don’t really love us or respect us? How often do we sell our virtue for far less than it is worth? God tells us that “our price is far above rubies”. So, we must stop selling ourselves short. As ladies, we must really learn to place the same value on ourselves as God does.

Luke 12: 24~ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Revelations About the Blood

 

We have all heard that “there is power in the blood”. As Christians, we know that we can cover ourselves and our families under the blood. We also know that Jesus shed his blood for us on the cross. For we know that there must be the shedding of blood for the remission of sin. What I didn’t realize was that the blood had a voice. Don’t believe me? Well, check this out:

When Cain killed Abel, Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground:

Genesis 4: 9-11~Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”¹⁰ And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. ¹¹ So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

Hebrews 11:4~By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead

Jesus' blood also spoke:

Hebrew 12: 24~to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel

Lessons from Wal-Mart

The other day I decide to go to Meridian, Mississippi to pick up a few things. I had several stops to make in town. One of those stops was Wal-Mart. Another one was the mall. As I was on my way from the mall, I noticed that my car was driving a bit funny, and I knew I should go home immediately. I had one more stop on my list, and I debated making that stop.

Suddenly, it came to me that there was probably something wrong with one of my tires. So, I made a decision. I would go to my last stop, and I would check my tires while I was there. I made it to my destination. I checked my tires and sure enough, I saw wires sticking out of one of them. I then debated trying to get back home or purchasing a tire in Meridian. I wondered why when I was on the other side of town I would notice my tire. I mean, I had just left Wal-Mart which sells tires. I had just left the mall which is next to Sears. I could have purchased a car from both of these places. I decide to go to the Wal-Mart closest to me. I had never purchased a tire from this site before, but I would have to do just that today.

When I made it to Wal-Mart, I pulled into the Automotive Department and held my breath. I had had some bad experiences with the other Wal-Mart in Meridian. So, I don’t like buy tires there. To my surprise, the people at this site were extremely friendly. I was very satisfied and surprised. But, what does this have to do with God?

As I was getting into my car, I realized how good God is. He had led me to the right Wal-Mart at the right time. He had kept that tire from blowing out while I was driving. God knows, I had been on some lonely and dangerous roads. I could have been killed. He had made sure the car drove fine until I had received my paycheck from work.  Isn’t God awesome?

He gives his angels charge over us to keep us from dashing our feet against a rock-Psalms 91: 11

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and he delivers them-Psalms 34: 7

Mixed-Matched Shoes

Our shoes and our companions should match

I was cleaning out my son’s closet the other day when I did something strange. I wore a pair of flip flops into my son’s room. I pulled my shoes off, climbed in a chair and begin to clean the top of his closet. As I was taking down items, I climbed down from the chair. I grabbed an arm full of all the things I wanted to throw away and headed to the trash can in the kitchen. Before I left the room, I put my shoes back on. When I was on my way back to the room, I just happened to look down at my feet. I was shocked at what I discovered.

I wasn’t wearing my flip flops. I had on two mixed matched pair of shoes. I had on one flip flop and one slide in mesh tennis shoe. How I ended up with the two different shoes on I can’t say. I was just shocked that I had done something so silly. I was also shocked that when I walking to the kitchen I hadn’t noticed the difference in the way the shoes felt. It was only when I returned to my son’s room that I noticed something wrong. Then it came to me. My shoes had been unequally yoked. Although I am not married, I recognized how it could make a world of difference.

So often in our quest to find a spouse, a companion, or a business partner, we hook up with people who just don’t go with us. They don’t share our dreams or our values. And, like my mixed matched shoes, they feel okay at first. However, we eventually start to feel some discomfort. It is then that we become miserable. We look to God to help us understand how we ended up with this person who is so wrong for us.

The answer to the question is simple. We ignored the differences. We ignored the signs because we want this person so bad. We were so caught up in our romantic feelings. Let’s be honest. We were so caught up in the sex -if it is a spouse or companion-that we couldn’t think straight. Great sex does not mean he or she will make a good spouse, a good provider, or even a good friend. This is why there are so many divorces and bitter break-ups.

So, what do you do once you notice that you are wearing mixed-matched shoes? You should ask God to help you. If you are married to them, ask God to begin to save that person and to help you. If this is a business partner, ask God to help you and your business. If this is a boyfriend or girlfriend, make a change before things go any further. I know it is harder than it sounds. Once you have become sexually connected with a person, it is hard to break that bond.

How do you stop from putting on mixed-matched shoes? How do you keep from hooking up with the wrong business partner or companion? You pray and ask God for guidance. Remember when Abraham sent his servant to bring back a wife for Isaac in Genesis 24: 12-19. He prayed that God would give him a sign and show him the right woman. We are to seek God about everything-especially something as important as choosing a spouse.

Genesis 24: 1-26

2 Corinthians 6: 14

Crayon Shower

My children and my students are always teaching me new lessons.  A few weeks before school was out, my female students taught me another great lesson about the nature of man. They did this using my crayons. It was just a few days before the state exams, and I was trying to remediate my kids. One of the techniques I was using required the kids to color the sentence parts. I had the students in groups. While I was working with one group of students, I looked up to see crayons flying across my room.

Needless to say, I was very angry. I would have thought my male students were guilty. However, I discovered that it wasn’t my boys. It was my girls who had decided to throw crayons across my room. When I confronted the guilty girls, each one of them lied. They blamed a male student in class who had been in a lot of trouble all year. My girls told me this lie with honest faces. I couldn’t believe it. All of the girls had got together and decided to lie. They were willing to get this young man in trouble just to save themselves from punishment.

When I told them that I knew the truth and asked them why they did it, the girls simply said that they wanted to have a little fun. They also stated that they lied to keep from getting in trouble. I was very angry because they were willing to let this young boy be kicked out of school because of something that they had done. It was then that I recognized the nature of man.

We are such wrecked creatures. How often we lie and cheat our fellow man just to get ahead. I wondered did these girls learn lying from their parents or did they get it from themselves. It has been said that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”.

What does the Bible tell us about this situation?

Exodus 20: 16: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

Exodus 23:7 : Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

Hosea 10:13-14: You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, You have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors

Matthew 12: 36-37: But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Proverbs 18: 21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue

Lying is not okay with God. And, why these girls decided to join together to lie on another innocent student, I don’t know. That is why it is so important to teach our children the difference between right and wrong. It is important to teach them to love and respect others.

Anxiety and God's Faithfulness

Just the other day, I was attacked by an overwhelming feeling of anxiety. I couldn’t explain where it came from or why I had it. My mind was suddenly swamped with “what ifs”. I found myself calling my best friend and whining to her about my problem. It wasn’t until Sunday evening that I realized what was going on. I cried out to God, and I identified the problem.

There is a situation that I have been seeking God about. Up until now, there was no doubt in my mind that God would answer my prayer. In the mist of my fears, I realized that I had gotten out of faith and into doubt. As my pastor, Dr. Robert Nix, likes to say, “When you are in fear, you are out of faith.”  The Bible tells us “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

So, when I realized that this was an attack of the enemy, I calmed down. I realized that I had experienced this before, but I didn’t know how to handle it. at that time. Now, I know that we are to walk by faith and not by sight.

Just like Abraham, we are not called to figure it out. We are called to have faith and believe no matter what it looks like because our God is able. He is also faithful. If he promised us something, he will do it. God cannot lie. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Philippians 4: 6-7

2 Timothy 1-7

2 Corintihian5:7

What Was Meant for Your Harm

 

My children and my students are always teaching me important lessons about life and about God. The other day, one of my boisterous students was annoying me and the whole class. So, I sent Little Miss to the classroom next door to finish her test. She was so upset that I had sent her to another room away from all of her friends that she could have spit nails. Well, after being next door for a few minutes, one of the parents of a student in the other classroom appears pushing a cart full of juices and cupcakes. It was her daughter’s birthday, and they were going to have a party in the room. Little Miss got to join in the fun. She received a cupcake and juice and candy. When she finished her test and her cupcake, Little Miss came back to class excited. She said, “See Ms. Shields, what you mean to hurt me actually helped me.” Although I wondered at the irony of her situation, I did have to admit that she was right. What the world means to use for our harm is often turned around for our good. And, no weapon formed against us shall be able to prosper. As children of the Most High, we have these promises.

Isaiah 54: 17: No weapon formed against me shall be able to prosper:

Genesis 50: 20: But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

The Road Less Traveled

The poet Robert Frost had a poem called "The Road Not Taken”. In this poem, narrator comes to a crossroad and has to make a decision about which road to travel. He chooses the road least traveled. The other day I was scrolling down my Facebook page and I noticed something. The posts that received the most "likes" were usually the ones that were very provocative, contained profanity, or were posted by people who were still strongly tied to the secular world. Posts about God, Jesus, child discipline, or righteousness didn’t receive a lot of “likes”. I also noticed that most women did not like posts by other women. This was especially true of women that they felt “thought too much of themselves” or who were “goodie two shoes”. Amazing but predictable behavior. The world lives by a different standard than the children of the king. As Christians, we are not to worry about what the world thinks of us or if we receive a lot of “likes” on Facebook. We are called to be different. We are not called to “Twerk” or wear too tight or too short clothes. We are not to post pornographic videos. Remember, we were called to a different standard. We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Don’t get me wrong. I am not without my own faults, but as I grow in Christ, I learn better and I do better. God told us to come from among them and be separated. The blessing is attached to our uniqueness, to our obedience, and our love of God. So, don’t despair if people think you are weird or strange. This simply means that you are doing something right.

 

Genesis 12: 1-4

2 Corinthians 6: 17

Psalms 1: 1-3

Romans 12: 1

Wisdom vs. Wealth

 

Another quote from my pastor, Dr. Robert Nix: "There is a difference between wisdom and wealth. Wealth is having the finances. Wisdom knows how to keep the finances."

Have you ever wondered why money seems to run through your fingers? Join the club. This means that you don’t have financial wisdom. Yes, you have made the money, but you don’t know how to keep it. I was not taught how to budget or manage money. So, for years, I struggled with my finances. I made a lot of dumb financial choices. Now, I have learned to pray and ask God to guide my financial decisions. This has worked so much better for me. No, I will not lie and say that I don’t still waste money. However, I have become a better steward of what God has entrusted to me. It is my continuing prayer that I learn how to get and keep wealth.

 

Deuteronomy 8:18-He gives us the power to get wealth.

Proverbs 10: 22-blessings of God make us rich

Proverbs 3:9-10-Honor the Lord with your wealth and the first fruits of your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty.

Lessons about God I Learned from My Children: Part 2

 

 

It is amazing what we can learn from children. I did a post earlier on one of the lessons about God that I learned from my oldest son. Well, just the other day, one of my students also taught me about the ways of God. One of my female students spotted the school secretary in the hall. She jumped out of her desk and declared that she just had to speak to the school secretary. I informed that student that she could not speak to the secretary. For one thing, this was during class time and as a teacher, we protect that time. For another, the secretary was headed into another teacher’s room. I was not going to let my student interrupt another teacher’s class for something trivial. I had to tell her to have a seat 3 times before she finally gave up and sat down. The thing was- I was going to let her speak to the secretary anyway after she came out of the classroom next door.  Not only was I trying to prevent the loss of class time, but my main goal was to get my hard-headed student to obey. I needed to let her see that we can’t always have things the instant we want them, and I was going to share this with her. Sadly, as soon as she sat down, she instructed another student to call the secretary for her. I looked at her and shook my head. This killed my plan to bless her. This demonstrated her lack of patience and confidence in me. So, now I was really reluctant to let her speak to the secretary.

I couldn’t help but think about how we act. How we, as Christians, act just like this little girl. We ask God for something. He doesn’t give it to us instantly, and like Abraham, we become impatient and try to do things in our own power. God knows when we are ready to receive our blessing. And, he knows when our blessing is ready for us. Sometimes, he tells us to wait because it is not the right season. He is going to bless us, but we have to be patient. Sometimes, he is just testing our hearts. Sometimes, he just wants us to obey. I am guilty of being impatient. I often want what I want when I want it. Thankfully, God is helping me to learn how to wait on him because he knows what is going on behind the scenes. So, you see there is so much that we can learn from children.

 

Genesis 16 (Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar)

1 Samuel 15:22 (Obedience is better than sacrifice)

Luke 11: 13 (Our father gives good gifts)

Ecclesiasts 3 (There is a season for all things)

Isaiah 40:31 (Those that wait upon the Lord)