Category Archives: MUSINGS

Taking a Hard Stand

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What Do You Think Wednesday?

I remember years ago as I was becoming a more biblical Christian a friend began asking me a series of questions: she wanted to know if I would still hang with certain people, attend certain places and do certain things. I don’t remember all her questions or my responses, but when I said I wasn’t going to toss the poems I had written with some curse words and that I would just modify them, she determined that I was still “reasonable.”

Recently, in response to my post about Republicans using the terms “legitimate rape” and “forcible rape,” another more liberal friend referred to me as “reasonable.” She said she appreciated the post that showed that “anti-abortion” doesn’t mean “pro-misogyny.”

But what happens when you do what you think God has told you to do and your friends no longer think you’re reasonable? How do you respond to them and others who oppose what you say, particularly how you say it, when you believe God has given you what to say and how to say it?

Those are questions I believe we all should ponder as the course of this world is fast changing. A friend in conversation last night observed that issues we now face don’t seem to leave room for people to be in any grey area. She cited how some Christians once could easily say they are against abortion except in cases of rape and incest; she finds those Christians she knows now are having a hard time with that position with pro-abortion activists citing the ability to terminate a pregnancy from rape or incest as the reason why abortions should remain legal across the board. You now simply have to choose: either you’re for abortion or you’re not; either you’re for gay rights or you’re not; either you’re a Democrat or a Republican. The world is making it hard to blur the lines, to stay in safe spaces, to move into an area where people may not see you as reasonable. 

I don’t know all my answers to the questions I challenge us to ponder, but I have been meditating on the following scriptures and suggest you do, too. Also, pray that God will give you more scriptures to consider and show you the stand that will please Him:

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”–Matthew 12:30 (NLT)

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth….'” (Revelation 3:15-16)

“But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men….'”–Acts 5:29 (ESV)

What scriptures do you/can you use to fortify you to do what God would have you to do? As always, please tell me what you think.

Developing Mini-Me’s

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As a woman constantly seeking God for strength and wisdom, I am passionate about my call as an older woman to pour God’s strength and wisdom into women younger in the Christian faith. If I am not careful, and there have been times when I wasn’t so careful, I confused my teaching and telling. Instead of teaching the younger women how to be strong and wise in God, I would largely share the prescriptions given to me to be wise and strong. In some cases, this isn’t always wrong; some of the ways I received were good general directions that all Christians should employ. But the times when the teaching and telling got confused was when I told the ladies I was leading how I did something and expected them to do it JUST LIKE ME. Perhaps the way I handled a situation was biblical, but confusion would come when I would expect the women to follow ME, not necessarily follow me as I follow Christ. I unwittingly was creating mini-me’s instead of creating biblical mini-me’s. God wants us to reproduce others in His image and not our own.

This can happen to us with anyone we’re leading. As strong black women seeking to operate according to God’s strength, there may be several in our circle looking to us for direction. The challenge always will be to lead them so Christ is formed in them and not we ourselves (Galatians 4:19). In my latest EEW column, I discuss in detail the challenge to develop our children into biblical mini-me’s and not just mini-me’s. The column begins below:


The other day on Facebook I saw pictures of these little girls that looked like little women. The cutline on the pictures asked readers if they would dress their daughters in those pint-sized heels, highly decorative stockings, high-rising skirts and bejeweled earrings and necklaces. Of course the answer for many Christians would be ‘definitely not,’ but some of us get pleasure out of seeing our version of a mini-me. We may not want our children physically-fashioned like us, but we may marvel that our children may not only look like us but also cut a look like we do, respond sharply as we do and otherwise behave in our undesirable ways. We may laugh and accept what we see, simply saying, “She is just like me.” Though some of the mini-meism is genetic, some is environmental, learned from observation or from being intentionally taught. Either way we know that our children learn from us. Our job is to make sure that what is caught and taught is biblical, that we are biblically-fashioning mini-me’s.

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1—ESV). This is what our attitude should be as we seek to help our children to mature. We should only want them to be like us if we are being like Jesus Christ. And as Jesus Christ grew he “. . . became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40). So, just as Christ grew, we have to help our children grow spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Read the rest here.

My One Thousand Gifts List

#741-750
Listening to Roy Hargrove
Having a sufficient amount of leftovers
My books arriving
Selling three of my books
More spectacular items for my message
A visit from Hilda and Christian
Getting a quick prescription for Joshua’s pink eye
Not having to take Joshua to the doctor
God’s timing for allowing Joshua’s pink eye to manifest when I had a doctor in my home to be able to diagnose and prescribe Joshua’s prescription
Being able to edge my mom’s hair

Friday Feature: How to Add Raw Foods to Your Meal (with a recipe)

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My Labor Day meal: raw collard green wrap, cole slaw and baby back rib


As I got ready to transition off the raw food program I was on for 28 days, the program director advised me that if I went back to eating cooked foods, I should make sure to eat at least one raw food item with my meals. She said the body responds to cooked foods as foreign invaders and the raw foods prevent that from happening. I don’t know about cooked food as foreign invader. God instructed His people to eat cooked food and Jesus ate cooked food while here on earth (Deuteronomy 12:5-7; Mark 14:12-18; John 21:9-13). What I do know is that God’s people did seem to eat raw foods with their meals as evidenced by their longing for cucumbers and leeks (herbs) along with some fish (Numbers 11:5). And I don’t know too many people who eat cooked cucumbers, but my point is this that I have found to be true for my own body: raw foods complement cooked foods in taste and digestion so I suggest we eat this way.

Some of you may already be doing this, like when you add a garnish of onions and tomatoes to your cooked greens. I do this, too, but here are a few more ways to add raw foods to your meal (though all ingredients may not be raw):

Food garnishes—In addition to tomatoes and onions to my greens, I add them to my beans. Cucumber is my choice garnish for anything garlicky, like falafel or hummus. I also put cucumbers and avocado on my burgers.

Salads—Some of you may eat a salad before your cooked meal but try eating one along with your cooked meal. If you make a loaded one, that has nuts and seeds in addition to your choice veggies, you increase your raw food intake and can decrease your cooked food intake. Remember, the enzymes that help your body digest your food are fully present in raw foods and are largely destroyed from the heat in cooked foods.

Slaws—Cole slaw and carrot slaws are my choices. Eat these alongside your meal on regular occasions and not just when you eat that rib or shrimp dinner from your favorite local spot. See my carrot slaw recipe below.

Drinks—We probably have all heard that we should wait until after we eat to drink our beverage, but what if your beverage is food? I think we should drink our food as we eat. So juice some vegetables and consume this along with your cooked meal.

So why not have the best of both worlds right on your dinner plate? You can have what you like and still do your body good.

Carrot Slaw

Ingredients
2 carrots
1 teaspoon of relish
2 teaspoons of your favorite mayonnaise or sandwich spread (My choice is a soy-free dressing I get at the health food grocery store.)

Directions
Shred carrots, add relish and mayonnaise, mix and serve.

Time Warped Satisfaction

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What Do You Think? Wednesday
“I feel like I’m in a time warp,” one of my high school classmates told me during one of our 25th reunion activities. She described her night out with a few other classmates, recalling, “It was just like high school.” Another classmate confessed that she wished she was back in high school or “at least life before children” so she wouldn’t have so much responsibility. Whether or not we are in a time warp—stuck and unable to get ahead or want to go back—stuck and wishing we hadn’t gone ahead, we can all relate to wanting to be in a different place. While I haven’t tried to live my high school years again or longed for them, I understand the desire for something comfortable, something familiar, something fun, something easy. I understand not wanting to grow up, to have to make the hard decisions that we may want to leave to someone else. I found myself here when I knew I had to take care of my mother for what I thought was three months; I found myself here again when she was still with me four months, then five months, then six months. I longed for truly carefree summers, coming and going as I pleased, fixing one family meal and not having to heed other unique demands. Yes, I know about longing for what we see as more pleasant times. When I think about my dwelling on my times of dissatisfaction with the here and now, I know my state comes from being disconnected from the Vine, Jesus:

I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bear much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing (John 15:5—AMP).

I couldn’t serve my mother like I would serve Jesus because I was stuck on the past and not on Jesus. I couldn’t respond kindly to her barbs because I was focused on what I didn’t used to have to deal with and not on Jesus. I had the wrong outlook when all I could look at was the past and not on Jesus. When I asked Jesus to teach me what He wanted me to learn from my present serving and stopped dwelling on my past, I longed to love and live in the present in hope of a better me in the future. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose” (Romans 8:28—KJV).

Are you disconnected from the Vine? Have you thought, even for a few moments, a few issues, a project or two, your present life, that you could achieve anything without Jesus? Have you tried to be satisfied focusing on past lives and laurels and not tried to be satisfied being stayed on Jesus (Isaiah 26:3)? You may be longing for a life that is long past, one that you were never meant to reclaim, because you haven’t sought Jesus to show you how to claim this life. You may be dissatisfied because you have been trying to live life away from your Source and Jesus lets us know that when we don’t have that vital union with Him we can do nothing. And that nothing includes being strong enough to overcome any circumstances, including discontentment about your present life (Philippians 4:11-13). Jesus makes your life right.

How do you believe you need to prioritize your life where Jesus helps you excel in the present and you not dwell on the past? Please, tell me what you think.

How to Labor (When You Really Just Want to Rest)

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For the most part I planned to rest today, take a break from my labors, after all the government has designated this day in the United States as Labor Day. This is the day off from jobs in recognition of American workers. While I don’t work outside the home, I have a workload that is heavy: home education, writing, counseling, business development, and homemaking are just a few of my duties. I planned to do a little work on my curriculum and fold a few clothes and just spend time with my family. But I got a counseling request—an emergency—and I knew I had to take the request. This was God’s will for me on what I had declared my day of rest. I had been summoned to work on behalf of God in speaking biblical wisdom into this person’s life. I had a God assignment on my designated off day. To rest, the way I wanted to rest, was not God’s plan for me. I had to do what He told me to do on my day of rest.

Remember the woman who had a spirit of infirmity for 18 years and the man with the withered hand that Jesus healed on the Sabbath day, the Jewish day of rest (Luke 13:10-17, 6:6-10)? The ruler of the synagogue after the woman was healed said “with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, . . .‘There are six days in which men ought to do work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” In this passage Jesus called the man a hypocrite, noting that he and others lead their animals to water on the Sabbath. And in the other passage Jesus said, “I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?” And with these words God sets them and us straight, tells us when we are to work: when you have the opportunity to do good and when you have the opportunity to save life. In other words, if someone is in need and you have the ability or capacity to give, then you work.

Every need is not our need to fill, but that doesn’t mean no need noticed on our day of rest is for us. We must seek God and He will tell us what He wants us to do (Jeremiah 33:3). If God tells us to work, then we work. If our working brings God glory, then we work (1 Corinthians 10:31). Whatever day of rest we choose, even this Labor Day holiday, remember that God is the Lord of the Sabbath, the day of rest, therefore He controls what that day looks like for us (Luke 6:5). And whatever He gives us to do will still feel like rest: “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet] for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29—AMP). Our true rest, the one we should always seek, is in Jesus.

My One Thousand Gifts List

#731-740
Flynn cooking lentils to supplement the meal
Justus going to sleep a second night in the row without being nursed
Reading with Nate under the dining room table with a flashlight
Amazing points to my message for LIFT
Missing sleep so I could hear from God in the morning quiet
An impromptu visit with Ruth, Hank and Rianna
The kids running, laughing and being carefree
My much needed chiropractic adjustment
A big branch falling in the backyard when we weren’t around
Justus climbing on my lap so I could kiss him