He Proposed...I accepted

p4cm

Have you met "the One"?  I have.  His proposal was/is/will be the best EVER. I couldn't believe how much He loved me.  He STILL loves me.  He will ALWAYS love me.  When I first heard of Him, I thought He was...ya know...AIGHT.  He sounded like a real' good Dude.  I was young when I heard about Him.  I thought I'd start chillin' wit Him.  The more time I spent wit Him - whether it was just He and I or we were with other people - I saw more and more of how beautiful He was.  He was awesome.  He awed me. His character was SOOO much better than my own.

God's Plan Isn't About You

I have a certain appreciation for other bloggers who seek to live lives that glorify the Christ. Check out this post from Kyle Tower's blog entitled, "God's Plan Isn't About You." Good stuff.

Things to pray for

newcreationbiblefellowship.org

If you're like me, your prayer life seems to go through drought and flood season.  Sometimes I feel stuck in a dry season in which I am praying for the same things day after day.  It becomes rather "routine."  The only new things I seem to pray for are things that are brought to my attention by the Holy Spirit or by someone or some event He uses.  I believe that God is listening to me, but I sure don't act like it with my little weak prayers. Then sometimes I have rainy, floody prayer seasons in which I pray fervently and continuously for things that pop-up in everyday life.  I mean, I take those requests to DA THRONE BBBOOOLLLDDDLLLYYY! I pray all over-around-and-through those requests with earnest expectation that God CAN and WILL answer them. During those times I have the feeling of "I know there ain' NOTHIN' my GOD cain't (aka can't) do! HALLELUJAH!" I mean, I know that-I know that-I KNOW-that I know!

If you go through those seasons like me...or maybe this never happens to you but you just want some ideas on things to pray for...check out this. It's from desiringgod.com and entitled "What to Pray For." During my week of intentional prayer, I spent some time praying through some of this list. Thank God for it!  Will you also take the time to pray for some, if not all, of the things on this list? Pray fervently with earnest expectation that God will answer!

A new kind of busy body

theresurgence.com

Are you an internet busy body? Whew! Lord, have MERCY! I must confess that I have become one. Lord, forgive me! Check out this article from theresurgence.com.

Eavesdropping

Have you ever eavesdropped on a conversation?  Sure you have.  Well...maybe you have.  I have.  Sometimes I heard something I really didn't need to know and sometimes I heard something that pleasantly surprised me and even came in handy. For instance, once I overheard a conversation about a volunteer opportunity that rrrreeeaaalllyyy interested me.  So, I signed up! Ha-ha!  What would it be like if someone eavesdropped on a conversation between two people about the Gospel?

Pay Day is Coming Afta While!

hollyonthehill.wordpress.com

Pay Day! You ever felt like this after 2 weeks of work? I know many people have direct deposit now so they don't get a physical check but if you've ever gotten an actual pay check before...think back with me...you FINALLY got that job and you were a bit more excited about getting the money than anything else..I mean, you had BILLS and stuff! You read the handbook (as a matta of fact you STUDIED dat thang so you would know the ends and outs), went in, did the work to the best of your ability, asked questions, respected and obeyed your boss, worked well with your co-workers, put in extra time to ensure that you did everything you were supposed to do.  You put in your hours for every scheduled shift for the 2 week period and were HOPING and PRAYING that you wouldn't have to wait 30 days before gettin dat FIRST check!  Either way, whether it was 2 weeks or 30 days you were preparing for PAY Day.  When it FINALLY came and your boss handed you that check, he/she also commended you for a job well done.  It was a wonderful feeling. I imagine that's how it should be at OUR pay day as believers...

Nursing Home Shenanigans

wahoofoundation.org

Set the scene. 2:35 pm. Saturday afternoon. Smell of bleach in the background as I walk down the hall and see Ms. O, an 80 year old Russian woman.

Ms. Olga: "Excuse me, Miss. Can you please go through that door for me. They won't let me."

Me: (reads the sign on door: EMPLOYEES ONLY) "I'm sorry, Ms. Olga. I can't go back there either. I don't work here."

Ms. O: "But I really just want those M&Ms right there. See them?"

Me: "Ha-ha, yes, I do."
Ms. O: "So if I watch the door while you buy the M&Ms (slips $2 in my pocket) we should be ok. You can keep the change, Sweet Pea." (She winks at me)

Worship!

Hello there.

The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love, or mercy, mercy, mercy, or wrath, wrath, wrath, or justice, justice, justice. It does say that He is holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of His glory.

-R.C. Sproul

For more on the holiness of God, click here.

Oh God, Creator of everything. You alone are holy. 

Til next time,

U.M.

LIKE this!

A phone call

Hello there! Picture this:

Set the scene. 1:39 pm.  Friday afternoon. I'm off for the day. Best friend of YEARS (alias Ali) calls.

Me: Hey! Wats up, girl?
Ali: GIRL!!! Guess what?
Me: (Curious now) WHAT?! Good or bad?
Ali: It's REAL good!
Me: First...Ain'tchu at work?
Ali: Yeah, but look, I'm getting married you wanna be my maid of honor?
Me: To WHO?!? WHENNNN?
Ali: Girl you know who, we ain' set no date yet, and we don' even know if we gettin' married fa real but I just wanted to ask you in advance so you can be thinkin' up good stuff for the wedding.
Me: I'LL TALK TO YOU LATER! I thought it was URGENT!
Ali: It IS!!
Me: Are you on break? And why are you callin' me from your work number?
Ali: Naw, I ain't on break... I ain' tryna use my daytime minutes to call you!
Me: Bye!
Ali: Ok, talk to you later! I'll call you back after 9 when my minutes are free.

Be sure to call YOUR friends and those special people in your life just to let them know you care!...when you're NOT at work and when you have plenty of minutes. *chuckles*

Investing your life

Hello there, you! You ever been caught up in the busyness of life and missed out on some of the things you REALLY wanted to do? For example, getting SOOO caught up in going to work, running errands, and planning your social life that you completely miss the beauty of the setting sun?  Or maybe you're a student...so busy with classes, homework, projects, extracurricular activities, spending time with friends, trying to find time for facebook, e-mail, and calling home/family? SOOO busy in fact that you miss out on having a meaningful conversation with your next-door neighbor? Or forget to even thank God that He is allowing you to breathe and do all these things.

You doing what?

Hello there!  We all probably know someone who we claim is "DOING TOO MUCH."  Y'all know what I'm talkin' 'bout! Example...let's call him Bro. Fantastic:  a dude that works 50 hours a week as a nurse in the children's ward, volunteers each week tutoring a child, is a Big Brother in Big Brothers Big Sisters, active in his church planning youth events and teaching the youth class in Sunday School, actually has a relationship with the Lord, disciplin' a dude from the youth ministry, spends a few hours every Saturday either takin' his grandma grocery shopping or visiting the sick and shut-in and sharing the Gospel wit da young brothas he runs into in da neighborhood.  


UM....HELLO??!?! He's doing A LOT!  You may be thinking, "Ok so he must have EXTRA brownie points wit Jesus.  Peter is ALREADY waitin' for him at da Pearly Gates to give him a personal tour around New Jerusalem that includes a chariot-ride with St. Paul 'n nem.  Mmm-hmm..." 

Give me my flowers NOW!

Hello dere! Great readers..."Givin' honor to God, the pastor, associate ministers, deacons, saints, friends, visitors...did I miss anybody? Oh, to the readers of this dear blog. :) I just wanna say one thang to y'all this aftanoon...give me my flowers whilst I can still SMELL them! Y'all be blessed."

Ever heard that before?  Ok, so maybe not in a theatrical way but you get the point.  Give people all the props, acclaim, kudos, appreciation, and so forth while y'all have time together on this earth.  Don't wait til something happens to them to tell the WORLD how much you love that person. For instance, I spend time with my extended family cuz I wanna enjoy them NOW while the Lord extends His grace for us to have time together.  I give flowers to Momma J while she can still SEE them.  I mail sweet notes to the ones I care for so they know NOW that I care about them. I tell that lady in the parking lot that she looks nice in case no one else has. I let the manager of the mom-n-pop shop know I think he da bomb-dot-com in case he's had a hard day dealin' with FOLK.

This isn't in perfect context but I'm reminded of this verse...
"So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." Galations 6:10 (ESV)

Person A: Flowers?
Person B: Oh YES! Give me dem joints now! I 'preciate it!

Til next time,
U.M.

The power of love (a snippet)

Hey loves! Hello there! L-O-V-E...L-O-V-E...LOVVVVEEEE.  Mmmm...so many wonderful connotations are associated with this word for me.  Romantic relationships, family relationships, real friends, passion for an organization/field of study/ministry/sport/artist....so many things.  But the REAL meaning of love that really distinguishes it from others is the genuine action that comes from LOVE.  The Bible on love:


Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; itdoes not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends...

-1 Corinthians 13:4-8

A very familiar passage but still VERY important.  Something else on love from the Good Book: 

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. -1 John 3:18

Of course there are MANY more verses of Scripture about love.  One of my favorite examples of love (other than God sending Christ to die for us)  comes from Colleen Townsend Evans in her book, Love is an Everyday Thing. Ms. Townsend describes the ordeal of a woman who's husband leaves her for another woman.  Ok, so maybe you think: typical.  He probably got sick and the ex-wife took care of him.  But this story is soooo much more compelling...