Making It Plain

In my first year of college, I was employed by a small company who was hiring the local residents. My sister and I were hired. During the introduction to the process, the employer tried to be more engaging telling us about himself and his family. He had a picture of his first born toddler son on his desk. He turned the picture around for my sister and I to see it better. If there was ever a bigger reason to practice the masked face when horrified, that was the time. Never would I ever call a baby ugly mostly because I had never seen one before and the next reason is that babies are innocent and fully dependent on the adults caring for him/her. However, that particular day, my sister and I reacted solely from immaturity. No sounds of horror just the reflex of the jump /draw back spoke volumes. That was years ago and we believed he grew up to be a handsome young man or one who drew on all of his other attributes. Those other attributes are what this entry is about. By now, if you have re...

 Back when cartoons were hilarious, the villainous character would be leaning against a building just inside a dark alley watching for unsuspecting people. Once he found that "patsy", (as they would call them), he'd take the tooth pick out of his mouth and with a throaty voice speak the title of this entry then a head wag for the said "patsy" to come toward his direction to get the something he doesn't want anyone else to hear and for the "patsy" not to miss out on. It is always an item that would benefit the skulking character for the "patsy" to purchase it. It is why it has to be a secret so no one would be the wiser and convince the "patsy" when it is almost always a scam. From insider trading to purchasing a prime piece of land a stone's throw away from swamp territory and everything in between. It is up to the buyer to do his/her due diligence with a proper investigation in order to make a quality decision to invest or ...

Once upon a time there were a generation of parents strung out on their version of peace and love laced with some psychedelic value system that stemmed from a doctor's theory on how to raise a family and another doctor trying to teach you to make your self feel good with self love. Through all of that, we are here today. How do you like it so far? Feel good? Look good? Anything to be pleased about? How does your value system look? Do good and bad have cleared lines of definition? Have you waffled with the bible in maintaining what has been deemed as right for all of these years? How are your long term relationships? How are you living? This entry came from listening to a divorced father talk about how he and his grown son don't get along and the son blames his father for the divorce. The father has distanced himself from his son's views. The divorced father might not feel it's all his fault, but he knows that his son's lack of self control has caused his son much ...

 First, there is a reason why God tells us that in all of our getting, get understanding ( Proverbs 4:7 AMP ). The most important thing to know that everything God tells us is for edification, exhortation, and comfort ( 1 Corinthians 14:3 AMP ). He told us He would never leave us comfortless . He is our provision, our refuge, our fortress, and shield . He has called us to peace. He tells us over and over again to fear not ( Isaiah 41:10 AMP ). He says to be anxious for nothing ( Philippians 4:6-7 AMP ). All of this is in everything as we continue our journey in whatever He has called us to do....this is included in business practices, social cues, and most assuredly in relationships. Keeping the aforementioned in mind, I heard a pastor of a well known church tell the congregation the definition of insanity. Having been a follower of this ministry for years, I was always eager to hear a fresh Word from God through him. He proceeded to give the definition as "continuing to do the sa...

Tony Orlando and Dawn was a singing group back in the 70's. Tony Orlando was singing well before then though. During that time, the hit, Tie a Yellow Ribbon was on the rise, and so was his weight. By the mid to late 70's, everyone noticed how he started to slim down. It looked effortless. He was on a talk show when the subject came up in an interview. Mr. Orlando explained that as a child and well into his adult years, he would always have a particular snack of a well known brand of chocolate cookie and milk. It seemed innocent enough when growing into his teen years and really wasn't noticing the weight gain until an adult. He didn't change much of his diet, he just stopped the seemingly innocent snack of milk and cookies. This is how the concept of trust has been used, something as simple as a childhood snack. When reading about relationships or studying about marriage and counseling couples, this concept is paramount in all aspects of the dynamic. Having the support...

  Attending a Christian College to obtain a graduate degree, I was eager to begin the new semester. There were assignments, as usual, but my favorite part of any class was the essays. The essay we were to compose had to do with the subject matter of trust and where we learned this valuable lesson using scripture to substantiate the point of view. I don’t recall the content of the paper but I do remember some of the comments the professor had in the margins. He thought that the essay I wrote was funny. Still, at the end, he disagreed with my point of view and wrote, “ you have to trust someone .”  His comment perplexed me for several reasons. One, it’s a Christian institution and I assumed those teaching are Christian as well. The other thing was that I used scripture to make my point valid and it didn’t matter to him. Finally, I wondered why I was allowing this man to teach me anything if he was going to oppose the basics of trust? The remainder of that semester became difficu...

 Jenifer Lewis, a well known actress for many years and co-starred in the popular (yet cancelled) sit-com, Black-ish , made an interesting statement that assisted with the misunderstood notion written in these next few sentences. Aside from the "colorful" language and mannerisms that makes her the actress she is, she said something like, "look at yourself in a mirror. Who do you see? Once you get passed the tears, you have to love who you are." The misunderstood notion: you should never be a lover of yourself. Now, the task Ms. Lewis mentions would seem pretty elemental (look at yourself in the mirror). The question she says is pretty obvious (who do you see?). The direction though had me scratching my head wondering, if this would be necessary in these days and times (you have to love who you are). Aren't we past this point and ready to get our teeth into the meat and potatoes of a relationship already? And the answer is sadly, no. Why? In talking about dating...

The title of this blog is something I usually say when I have gotten fed up with some of the things we do as Christians. I know I am striving to be more like Him just like we all strive to do and I know we are at all different levels of maturity...still, don't you see some things can cause you to say to yourself, what were you thinking? Or how stupid are you? Or even still use some other colorful phrase that could possibly question if you are a Christian ( 1 Thessalonians 5:23 AMP )? Honestly, I have. But what else can you do when you see people do the silliest things and then ask God why... why... WHY?!!! Its not His fault. He told you to let Him be at the helm of your life ( Proverbs 3:6 AMP ). He told you to put on praise ( Isaiah 61:3 AMP ), the whole armor of God ( Ephesians 6:11 AMP ), and His love ( 1 Thessalonians 5:8 AMP ). He told you not to do evil for evil but to pray for those that do wrong to you and bless those that spitefully use you ( Matthew 5:44 KJV ). H...