Making It Plain

There are some people you may consider to be absolutely wonderful. You have never seen him/her speaking a harsh word to anyone and has managed difficult situations masterfully. In school, he/she has prioritized to the point of you being envious with how well they have done throughout their academic career and as an adult, there has been no difference only more improvements. Everyone agrees, if you don't make this person your intended, you have lost the good sense God gave you. Have you met such people? When I was a child, the adults would tell me to watch out for those quiet ones. It was a warning I adhered to until I read in the scriptures to remain quiet shows wisdom ( Proverbs 17:27-28 AMP ). Are both pieces of advise good? Can people show good fruit because they have sown good seed? Why be apprehensive? See, if that question can be answered in part 2 of this dating inquiry:  2. You are so devoted and in love with your intended. This person is everything and more that you've...

  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...

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...

Earlier this week I was driving to work and listening to some Christian talk radio, as I often do. I love listening to God's Word and receiving revelation knowledge. In this particular show I was listening to, the topic was relationship and specifically, it was the family. I did agree that the break down of the nuclear family means the break down of communities and society as we know it. It was so poignant and profound. The two men who were hosting had a female speaker. They were getting along all so well... and then one of the men asked her a question about the wife and if it were anyone else's responsibility for her happiness but her own. The female speaker hesitated slightly and then said some annoying cliche instead of the Word. Why? Why? Freaking why? She was doing so well before that. She had them eating out of the palm of her hand. It was pleasant and peaceful. Then she says, "I know the old adage is a happy wife, a happy life but it's not how we live. Eac...

Its been awhile since my last entry. For a moment, I believed I exhausted all of the major topics for the Christian single life. Then I heard a program on the radio about living the lie of the Christian life style for whatever the purpose and I thought of you...the readers of this blog. Not that it describes you, only information so you will know what to keep watch for. Which of us are perpetrating to get what we can from the other? Do you know? Would you recognize the traits in yourself? The heart of a true believer is easy to see if you are really interested. I was sitting in a restaurant with my son who just finished his boot camp training. In those short 6 weeks, he could tell from his surroundings, who was in the military and who was a civilian. He even got up and spoke to one of them having never met him before. My father being in the military, never told us that it was an automatic training that one could spot at a glance. In the bible, when Jesus was being convicted for abs...