Making It Plain

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 ...

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...

Last week I went to the store to purchase some lotion (among a few other things). I went to the aisle where I knew it would be and saw it. Just before picking it up, right next to my usual brand, there was the store version with a sale price underneath it. It was $2.00 cheaper and was buy one get one free. How bad could the store brand be? I chose it but in picking it up, I saw there was the only one on the shelf. Still, putting it into my cart, it was $2.00 cheaper. Finishing the rest of my shopping, I went to the cashier. When he got to my lotion, I told him of the dilemma to quickly fix the problem. He ran the price checker over the bottle and said, "You're right." Did he do what I thought he was going to do? Call the stock person in the back to supply the demand and bring a bottle to the front? No, instead of reaching for the phone, he picked up a laminated paper, with some writing on it and said to me, " What I can do is reduce the price even further." He...

This is a shout out to all ministers, pastors, preachers, evangelists, prophets, and teachers who believe God has given to you a Word from heaven to attack women about their responsibilities in a marriage ( James 3:1-2 AMP ). I have heard sermons since I was 13 years old (a year prior to me being introduced to Jesus). There has always been this humongous issue that ministries have had with women and their role as wives, mothers, working outside of the home, older women teaching the younger, being the one that was beguiled while Adam sat idly by not doing anything. Well, dad-nab-it...enough!!! It's time to stop all of this blame placing and take some responsibility for your own faults and misgivings. Its high time to stop trying to place women in the mix of bad decisions made by men. And its more then enough time to stop saying God told you to say this to a congregation when He had nothing to do with it!!! I was listening to yet another sermon this morning. I look forward to lis...

Having "the holiday blahs" is not something that just came about. Its been going on for some time. The recognition of it is relatively new...well, if you consider the last 20-30 years new. The realization of such the condition more then likely had been snubbed or left on the shelf with the resolve being to just get over it already, or go take a nap and get with it, or here are some tranquilizers (which seemed to be the answer to anything that ailed you back in the 60's), you'll be fine. These panacea like answers were created because what the therapists and counselors were dealing with were so much more important than just having the blues. These days "the blahs" are considered a form of depression. Now there are varying levels of this condition and with these varying levels come more advice, more hours with the doctor and certainly more medication. Also the medical profession take this condition much more seriously and in turn with their advice, the pati...

I recall in the Autumn months when I used to live in Utah, there was this abandoned apricot orchard that my brother and I discovered. A neighbor suggested that we gathered as much fruit as we can because she was used to canning. She had her son come with us and it was the first time my mother made apricot preserves. But before we actually got the product she instructed us which of the fruit we should pick. We, as children, enjoyed going to the orchard to have our fill of the apricots. We didn't pick the hard ones because experience taught us that the hard ones weren't as sweet and delicious. So we left those. We also learned not to be so tired and reconcile to the fruit on the ground because it was more than likely spoiled or the bugs weren't finished with it. I recall the ick dance when picking those apricots from the ground. I thought it would be easier and they looked fine from the top. It was where the ground connected with the fruit when I turned it over did I see the ...

Every time I think I went over a topic to exhaustion, something else arises to where I begin wondering whether I touched on that point enough or not and if I did, is it understood to where it has become common sense then anything else? Well, to some of us, most of these topics are common sense but only because of the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us while we are persistent in walking in love in all that we do. If you didn't know where that common sense came from, now you do. With that, let's understand the concept of obligation. To be obligated to someone is to be indebted to that person. It is a bill whether it being an actual, tangible document, or just an understanding that when it is time to collect on the debt, the person collecting is expecting payment at the point of asking. Let us all understand right out of the gate that the Word tells us to owe no man anything but to love him. With this in mind, there should be an immediate plan to get out of debt and stay o...

There aren't too many reasons why people marry. There aren't too many reasons why people come to church to find the ideal person with whom they would like to spend the rest of their lives. There have been entirely too many people that has allowed their eyes to make that call rather than hearing what the calling (Spirit led) has to say. It is the last statement that should create interest to this new generation of believers so that any unwanted cycle in "the family" can stop right now ( Matthew 7:15 AMP ). During the dating process, initially, eyes are all a twinkle and we do put on our best behavior; why this behavior isn't constant would be up to the willing participants of the date to see and make a quality decision afterward. When I was in my late teens, I went on a date with this absolutely gorgeous man. I was elated that he not only found me attractive but was stammering in trying to get my phone number. He didn't know I was elated and the calmer I co...

A woman, I thought I knew, went shopping in the mall. We stopped at a perfume boutique. I was specifically looking for a scent of which I forgot the name. She was browsing and would incessantly call me to smell something she thought smelled good for herself. One aroma after another, most of her selection was the equivalence eau de (fragrance of) a horse's behind (exaggerating). As I had mentioned to her before, even though some love the scent, I do not like smelling like food. To wit her reply was, "good luck catching a man." What can one say after that? Recall that we no longer speak in that manner being Christian and all. She is Christian as well which refers back to the afore mentioned comment, of her being someone I thought I knew. Yet, it is what I believe too many women think they must have the mind stayed on a particular goal; her's being to catch a man. That was bothersome and left me speechless momentarily. Now that I think about it, isn't that why we b...