Making It Plain

The purpose for flipping the script is for self preservation or obtaining the benefit from the outcome. It is removing the usual response and saying something so off putting that it causes the hearer to digest the information differently. It isn't playing mind games; it is however, guarding your heart, keeping your confidence, and maintaining a decorum of respect...that would be depending on with whom you have yielded yourself to ( Matthew 22:37 AMP ). That brief introduction into this subject is about to break some archaic barriers that many generations of sermons would have believers accepting that the definition of humility is as being like door mats and allowing the enemy to have all sorts of fun at the expense of our dignity. In this entry you will see otherwise and what it has to do with dating for the purposes of marriage in our chosen Christian lifestyle. Warning, what you are about to read used to be a saying my mother used to tell me as a child in order to curtail my beha...

 It’s been a few years since I’ve heard that sermon ("I'll Never Be Broke Another Day In My Life") across the pulpit and the congregation gets all emotional thinking about those meager days when food wasn’t plentiful and laboring more than your share of hours at work seemed like the answer. Exhausted with sore feet, we still believed that we were going to come out of it smelling like a rose by giving our family the best life they could have. It all seemed worth it when there was something to give for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, and affording a new Easter outfit for the children allows sighs of relief and satisfaction. Thank you Jesus. So, why did you have to go through that? God saw you struggling. God saw you when you were frustrated and about to give up ( Philippians 4:6-8 AMP ). What were the words that came out of your mouth when you didn’t think anyone cared and it felt like you were doing this all by yourself? Did you stay positive believing there is a ram ...

 These blog entries that have been written over the years are for edification, exhortation, and comfort ( 1 Corinthians 14:3 KJV ). As a Human Service Professional, listening to the things people say and watching the behavior is paramount in this career. Sometimes, the inspiration is in the observance and after awhile it’s just overwhelming how we disregard common sense; nevertheless it is fodder for more entries. It seems there is never a loss for material ( Mark 14:7 KJV ). This entry reminds me of the children of Israel that had been led of the Lord without seeing Him. Through a fiery cloud in the sky, seeing the river part for them to cross, and being fed from heaven, one would think that there is no way anyone would take these wonderful miracles for granted and wish for something that everyone else has. And yet, they wanted a king ( 1 Samuel 8:1-22 KJV ). They were already being led by the Almighty!!! Stop here to think about that one (selah). God granted them their request. W...

Who had the idea of dinner and a movie first? Why did men first choose to pay for everything? Who flipped the script and why has it become complicated now? Lastly, when did we leave God out of flipping this script ( Philippians 4:13 AMP )? In growing up, one of the jewels of wisdom my mother said was not to accept gifts from men who are interested in dating you. I call them jewels now because I’m no longer a teenager and can completely understand without the distraction of added questions without much feedback… I was a talker . My mother was not. Nevertheless, we were a “humble” family and if it wasn’t a necessity it wasn’t purchased other than for a birthday or Christmas gift. I recall, from the movies of back in the day, when love interests would go to the girl with flowers and candy in hand. It was the romance of it all, and knew that someday the experience would be mine (cue the swooning here).  The day came and my mother's pearls of wisdom faced me before the bauble. I graci...

The title of this entry came when thinking of the failed relationships that claimed heard the Lord’s voice tell him/her that she/ he is the one. It is what we all wish to hear because in our minds we have waited so long and it seems everyone else found their someone while we are still waiting.  How come they got theirs and I’m still waiting for mine. What is taking so long?  There was a woman, Emily who told a younger woman, Ann that if she did not go to her husband and tell him that she is ready to be married, she would have never been married. But Emily failed to tell Ann of all of the hurdles Emily has to jump over and through when she gets home to be her husband's help mete. Yet, Ann pondered what was told to her even when the Word says otherwise for women ( Proverbs 18:22 AMP ). There was a young man, Malachi having a vision and a plan for his life. It included the young lady, Annette whom he has known since he was a child. They were both excited about the future. Having ...

Driving in the February chill of Michigan the roads looked as they always had, as with the trees, the smell of the frost, and the children walking bookbag bound to the destination one presumably believes to be school; but there is no telling these days. It would either seem I had been trapped indoors for so long, I never saw the change happen or could it have been distraction that kept me from seeing what everyone else saw and took for being normal. Am I so far out of the regime that the mere mention of what I know would never have been cause for an uproar? I am believing that I was somehow distracted and never noticed that a woman showing her pregnant stomach would somehow be fashionable. No one asked for the woman to cover herself out of respect of being a mother if nothing else. I sort of wished I did, but I was so surprised at her display,  I wouldn't of had the words.  Then again, they may have not said anything for fear of repercussion of what this woman would have done ...

There is this wonderful, exuberant time in every relationship where the tingles and butterflies pale in comparison with what goes on within you when you see that special person you have agreed to be a major factor in your life.  Don't mistake how great the feeling is when you have a liking for someone and they don't know you even exist - that's cool too especially when you are a child. It's the agreement of two people believing and knowing that the compatibility is everything you could ever think it would be. Having like interests, conversations that aren't difficult, family values are equally treasured, and the roles that each have are obvious and not debatable. Eventually, the conversation changes because you both question where the relationship is going. Is this long term or something to do over the Summer? It's a scary thing to approach if you are immature. Grown folks have had discussions like this before. The sooner you find what the other person is lookin...

The title of this entry came to me while I was on the couch really watching the sitcom, Mike and Molly for the first time. It was the first season and episode 17; the character of Mike is a police officer. He was sitting in a diner and said the strangest thing to his partner about his new girlfriend, Molly, "I already showed her my A-game when we were dating, now that we are a couple, I don't have the stamina. What does she expect from me?"  Wow! What else is there to say about this? I have had men tell me that I am bashing them and women get all quiet when poignant topics are needed for conversation before the relationship goes too far. Understand the title of this entry goes for both male and female. It is treacherous out there and too many young people get all tangled up in the emotions of it all ( Galatians 5:17-25 AMP ). You see, there is no value in emotion when you walk by faith. Guilt, obligation, desperation, fear, insecurity, jealousy and the like have no plac...

For some its the moment you wake up and for others it's in the middle of the day. It's a childhood memory on a Sunday morning, when food wasn't a thought until the smell of coffee and/or sizzling bacon wafting through the air made you get up and get ready for breakfast. It was an automatic reaction. When that feeling comes across your stomach or a warm inviting aroma comes across your nose, it's like a Pavlov experiment.  In fact, marketing strategists uses that lack of discipline to their advantage. There is this since torn down bakery from a large food corporation in Detroit, Michigan that used to make sure the ventilation system had a fan. The fan blew that baked good aroma out toward the neighborhoods in order to get more customers. There was no denying that fresh smell of bread to make you want some. It's that drive that causes the industry to be the booming business that it is. Children ask why their stomachs rumble at various times and the parents ask, when w...

First impressions…it’s the thing we learn to do when going on a job interview, getting a loan from a bank, meeting his/her parents for the first time, and yes, when we are going on that first date. The things we go through just so the person seeing us initially will believe that you are honest, forthcoming, having integrity, loyalty, with a focused plan for the future. It puts the other person receiving you at ease….well, that’s what we intended, right? But what if…just envision for a moment, the boss from the job interview, the loan officer, the parent of your love interest, or the love interest were in the car with you right in the middle of rush hour and you had 5 minutes to make it to work on time? Or if anyone of the aforementioned were coming to your home unannounced? Or on a day off and your idea of relaxing around the house is to be in your pajamas all day long eating junk food and marinating in your own ilk? Would it matter what impression you made on them then? If so, what’s ...

I was on my way to work and as much as I like to drive, there is a pet peeve of mine when people think that they can drive up to the fender of a car ahead of them to intimidate the driver to move out of the way rather than the aggressive driver moving he/she does vehicle acrobatics by driving right up close to the fender ahead so they can swerve in the next lane barely missing the next car ahead and the other driver in the next lane. I patiently wait for them to see that what they were hoping for me to do, is not going to happen. I then call them something (ungodly) in my car with the windows rolled up. Knowing that just me and God heard what was said, does that make it more or less alright?                                     Ugh, it’s not a big deal! Stop making mountains out of nothing! The Word tells us to refrain from evil speaking ( Psalms 34:13-14 KJV ).  But it’s the Old Testament so w...