Loved By The Father

This past week, in worship, it occurred to me that while I've always celebrated Christmas for the sake of Christ, I've never really thought just how intense this celebration ought to be. It's hard to appreciate having something without ever knowing life without it. I started thinking about my life before I acknowledged/recognized/loved the presence of God and I got a little emotional. Without Jesus's death and resurrection, I'm sure I wouldn't be here. I believe that his death and resurrection has not only saved souls, but has also saved lives, given motivation to pray/fast/worship/love/prepare. Where would my parents and grandparents and great-grandparents have been without his death and resurrection? This year, I'm celebrating the miracle birth of Jesus the Christ because God didn't send him to give us something to do in the winter. He sent him because there were needs that could never be met with lights and snow. There were hungers that could neve...

This past Monday was my birthday and to be honest, I'd completely forgotten about it. I've been so focused on school, teaching, gigs, and ministry lately that I completely bypassed stress on the way to busy. My mom called me AT 6 AM to play (over the phone) our traditional birthday song for each other, Solomon Burke's "Today Is Your Birthday" and my eyes widened. I smiled through gritted teeth because, for a moment, realizing it was my birthday was added stress. On top of everything I'm dealing with, going through, and contemplating, I'm aging? Sheesh. I went through the day's routine with classes, teaching lessons and rehearsals. My parents insisted on taking me out for dinner and it was nice. I really love those guys. Coolest people I know, for real. After dinner, in the car, I started thinking about the past year and all its ups and downs and I got emotional. I got lost in thoughts of my history: Failure, Resilience, Lonli...

Ever feel like you you're going through your life without experiencing passion or joy? We were designed to live and thrive best and most when we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. Are you always busy, running, and working, but never see any product, reward, or fruit? Sometimes, you have to look at what you've made your prize. What are you working toward? What have you made your goal? I've learned that when you establish a goal, you alter your actions, behavior, speech, and thoughts to accomplish the goal. If your goal is to earn a spot in the cello section of a major symphony orchestra, you'll schedule everything in your life around practicing/rehearsing/studying/interview/etc. If your goal is to pass a test or make a presentation, you will work toward accomplishing that goal with things like studying, research, getting adequate rest and/or eating well. Examine your actions, speech, and thoughts. By those things, what would it seem they're worki...

Comparison is the thief of joy.  -Theodore Roosevelt      Who or what are you comparing yourself to these days? With mass media in so many forms, it's terribly easy to get sucked into comparison → envy → sadness/depression/resentment/untrue feelings and thoughts of loneliness and abandonment . But how do you keep from getting there in the first place?       The Bible tells us in Galatians 6:4 to each of us "examine your own actions. Then you can be proud of your own accomplishments without comparing yourself to others. Sometimes, it helps to keep your eyes on your own paper, so to speak. I've had to go weeks and months before without social media, a fast I imposed on myself, so that I didn't have anything photo-shopped or unreal to compare my very real life to. MESSAGE! So many of the things we see and begin to compare ourselves and our lives to aren't even real! Imagine that God is looking at you like, 'homie, you're comparing your r...

Why Can't Anybody Tell Us Anything?             I hope that you've read and meditated a bit on last weeks' blog post, the first in this series, 'Why Can't We Get Along In The Church?' After reading, I hope you really gave some thought to the idea that everybody isn't out to get you and sometimes the changes our pastors preach need to take place within us aren't just for others. I hope you gathered that some of them are for us. Introspection is so important for us, as believers, because so much of the Bible tells us that things must be removed from within us for God to live there.       Perhaps I should've talked about this last week, but here goes. Read Psalm 51 , one of the psalms of repentance . It's pretty intense. David talks about confessing his sin to God and how the Father delights in the truth in our "inner being." (verse 6) Family, that comes from the cleansing David talks about in verse 7: " Purge me   M...

Why Is It So Hard to Get Along in The Church?      Shame on whoever hurt this poor little boy!! L.O.L.      Family, I know we're not supposed to publicly talk about how difficult    tough   frustrating   annoying   downright hellish ministry feels sometimes, but er- uh- I'm going there. Brace yourselves...      First of all, I say this  with love. Really. I say this, as a person who is committed to being the change I want to see within the body of Christ as well as working toward the goals and objectives that God has set for us. I think that if I didn't say anything, knowing that something needed to be said, I'd be doing a disservice, being disobedient, and ignoring problems which is being a part of the problem.      I was talking to a sister just the other day about how some people sometimes seem to thrive in messiness and chaos and how much it bothers me. Now, I've never been one of...

     One of the things I'm more and more grateful for lately is wise council. There are people around me who will sometimes give me constructive criticism, insight, and advice and I'm glad I'm at a point where I can cheerfully receive it. I'll admit, sometimes I still get a little annoyed, but I remember what Hillary Clinton said: Take criticism seriously, not personally.       Constructive criticism is something you'll face only if you do anything ever in life. Learn to use it to your advantage. For instance, there are times when I'm given constructive criticism from people that genuinely love me. When they do, I take it for what it is: constructive; not for what it isn't: destructive. Chances are, the people who are close enough (if you're minding who allow into your space. *hint* That's important.) to you to give criticism are giving it with good intentions. If they have ill intentions, take it as an opportunity to lift them up in prayer and ...

Every now and then, I get a little weary. I get frustrated with ministry, specifically, some days. It gets especially tough when it seems everything I'm shouting from the rooftops of my heart (dramatic, I know) is being ignored or getting drowned out by the sound of everything else. And I ask God, 'why did you ask me to do this? why did you bring me here? what IS the point of all this?' Sometimes, He answers. Sometimes, He doesn't and I'm left (poor choice of words, I know) to remind myself of what He said the last time. And that's so... something. And I'm an only child, so being ignored is just about the last thing I ever want. But it happens. Often.  Maybe, that's why He allows it so often.  Lol. Grow up, Princess.  " Don't grow weary in well-doing..." (Galatians 6:9)   *grumble, grumble* But sometimes, that's so much easier said than done and sometimes I just wanna stay at home and let weariness keep me on the couch in my pajamas...

I saw a poster on Pinterest and with all that's going on in the media and entertainment industry, it struck a chord... Hard. I think that we often let the world and society dictate what we should accept and deny. At the risk of sounding like the elders (who know what they're talking about with this one), you DO have to be careful what you allow into your space. That includes your mind, heart, body and soul.  That young and invincible thing is real! And no, it isn't just us, generation Y. Everybody goes through this No one, in their youth, wants to listen to their elders. It seems wack and the things they say sometimes seem irrelevant and outdated, but take heed to this one. It's serious. You are not invincible. You are affected by the things, people, and spaces around you. Music. Movies. Television. Food. People (family, friends, and strangers). What you allow into your space can have a tremendous, lasting impact on your more than just your mood. My first year at H...