Greater Tragedies

Sally walked in the break room fresh from the cold and you are looking for that hot cup of coffee, but….the coffee is cold.  There has been an electrical malfunction and all of the appliances are off in the break room.   The first thing that Sally does is start to fussing about nothing is right around the office and no cares anyone, blah blah blah…..

STOP THE MADNESS RIGHT THERE!!!!!

This happens in offices everywhere around the world each morning…something in some way shape or another, something has happened to the coffee.

Well to all my Sally-ies of the world let me tell you something, while you don’t have a fresh hot cup of coffee……

someone doesn’t even have water, someone slept out in the cold last night, a child was molested, someone was shot, someone was killed, a pet died, a loved one passed away, someone is homeless, someone is hungry, a child doesn’t feel safe, a wife was beaten, someone is hungry, someone lives in the midst of a war, someone was kidnapped and trafficked for sex, someone is blind, someone is deaf, someone is paralyzed from a car accident, someone is struggling with cancer….someone is wishing that they had the job that you have right now and would gladly do without the coffee.

Sally….there are greater tragedies in the world and what you should do instead of complaining about being without coffee is to be thankful that you are not experiencing one of them right now.

The Greatest Gift

I went shopping last weekend for a hat, yes just a hat.  There was such a hustle and bustle about the stores with people hacking their way through their Christmas lists.  What should be fun for them seemed stressful.   Here are some things that I heard:

I have to get this for Suzie and Tommie wants this but I can’t find it. 

I am so stressed out.

I don’t have time to get all of this done.

I am tired.

I will have to wait until next week’s paycheck.

Let’s get this done so we can get the heck out of here.

This made me sad.  This is not what the Christmas season is about.  If this is you, I challenge you to do something different this year.  Why not spend more time with family gatherings or going to Christmas programs, or having a movie night to watch Elf and play board games, how fun is that?  I made up my mind a long time ago that I will not be bogged down with gift giving this time of year.  I am not cheap and I love to give gifts from my heart throughout the year, not just because of the pressure of the season.

I don’t know how many times I have heard people say that they “they are going to buy Christmas”, or “my kids are going to have a Christmas”…..

With or without gifts….there is Christmas and I long for others to understand that the greatest gift of Christmas is a warm and loving heart toward one another the whole year through.

Peace to you and yours,

Got Heart?

Christianity has become this over the top, super positive, squealing at the top of your lungs, extra chipper way to be and if you are not like that then you are not a Christian and certainly don’t have the joy of the Lord.    Christians can be introverts and extroverts, quiet and gregarious, but there is one thing that should be the same and that is having a heart being modeled after God.

Smile

A smile means absolutely nothing if your thoughts and intentions are bad.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to smile, but I hate to force it. When I do it is real and nothing is hiding behind it.  I may not smile a lot, but there is peace in my soul and I mean you no harm.

Some Kind of Way

Ya know….lately I have been feeling some kind of a way.  Sad, but not completely sorrowed.  Angry, but still able to laugh at life.   Heartbroken, but grateful for what will never be.  I feel peace in my soul, but in the midst of that is a passioned fire that runs deep causing me to feel every revolution in and outside of myself.  I know that change is needed in this world and carry the burden of still hands that are not yet part of making those changes happen.  I am not one to ever pretend that I have it all together and I think that is okay.  All I know tonight is that I am feeling some kind of way……

Praying Too Much

I know that this is going to sound like a contradiction considering that my last post was about praying, but sometimes I think that people pray too much.  As I scroll down my Facebook newsfeed, I read how people are praying about this and praying about that, but these are the same people who do so much dirt to others.  How do I know?  I know, because I have been a recipient of some of the deceit that has gone forth from these praying folks.  The good thing is that we all acknowledge prayer as a change agent, but when are we going to change?  When are we going to become a just one facet of what we are praying about?  Okay you pray, wow….you look really holy…BUT when are we going to be holy?  Great, you are praying for someone who hurt you or someone that you just don’t like…but you can’t pray for someone and still wish that they get their Karma.  As a matter of fact if you doing that then you should probably be praying for your own wicked heart.  Another thing that just kills me is that some people don’t believe in God, but when they need something for themselves or their children, they request that someone pray for them?  Well, if you don’t believe in God…who exactly do you think is going to consider or even answer your prayer?  That is a whole other post about how God is NOT a Band-Aid for you to pick up and use when life gets rough.  God is about relationship and he wants  a relationship with you.   Which takes me back to praying…..sincere, heartfelt prayer is powerful and should not be taken for granted but at some point in time we have to become the compassion, healing, the understanding, the deliverance,  and the strength that we pray.

A Church Prop

The picture below is a traditional pulpit.  It is not a prop, it is not a weapon by which people can be destroyed by being preached on rather than inspired by the Word of God. This pulpit  is not a place to play dictator to those who trust you for healthy leadership.  This is not the edifice by which to womanize or draw people into what you are NOT only to leave them broken while you continue to bring deliverance to others and just leaving the very people that you hurt for spoils.    We are now living in a time where people think that being a minister or pastor is hereditary rather than an actual calling from God.  Just because your grandfather’s grandfather’s  grandfather on both sides of the family were both pastors does not necessarily mean that you should be. This pulpit is an entrusted place.  It is sacred and unfortunately far too many in and out of the pulpit have forgotten that. I am not saying that the person that stands behind this has to be perfect, but can we at least say that we are yielded and acting according to God’s perfecting power?  Only the people that stand before this and stand behind this can bring the reverence back to what this really is and until that happens people are only going to see a piece of wood,  a bookrest, a prop…..not a place of power by which the Word of God is delivered and people are transformed.

May God be with us all….

See With Your Heart

There are amazing people in this world.  Some of these amazing people don’t look like you, talk like you, and may not even have the same beliefs as you, but you will never know how amazing they are because your eyes tell you one of two things:

1) Either you are too good to bother with them, or

2) You don’t measure enough to bother them and their time

I have entertained those thoughts many times and now wonder how many opportunities, friendships, inspirations, etc. did I miss out on?  Who could I have blessed?  Who could have possibly been a blessing to me?

In the days ahead my friends, don’t listen to your eyes, instead see with your heart and begin to reach out a little more to people.  Even if you start with just saying a simple hello to someone that you would otherwise not acknowledge.  Safety first and use good common sense!  As much as there are good people in the world there are also those who really do have bad intentions and will harm you.  It is those people that often cause other to “shell up” and not bother much with the world, but this is also no way to live and enjoy life.

See with your heart!

I Will Be Here…..

You know…I have loved this song for a long time.  Through the years, its’ meaning has become so much richer in my heart.  One day I want this song to play at my wedding, but I just don’t want it to play….I want it to be real in my heart and I want it to be a real expression of the love that my husband will have in his heart toward me.  I can’t imagine saying, “I Do”, with feelings any less than what is written in this song, I mean come on, this is worth waiting for, but I pray that God give me the wisdom to know when I am presented before such gift……