My favorite FOUR Letter word! KIND...

 Four letter word KIND

Power in kindness, honor in kindness, glory in kindness - Dr. Luke's orders.

Luke 6:27-31 - Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Does anybody remember the site classmate.com? It came out before Facebook and all the other social networks and it connected people who you went to school with.

Well goodness knows how many years ago now it was when this site came out, but a lady whose name I can’t remember and let me tell you honestly I still don’t truly recall sent me one message.

It went something like this. "Thank you for being nice to me in high school. I never forgot you for this. You were always nice to me and it really meant a lot to me."

Wow! I wrote back thank you and that I hoped all was well for her. I wrote that because I didn’t have much else to say, because like I said I didn’t and still don’t remember who the heck she is – but she remembered me.

This isn’t a Senetra your so nice pat on the back moment. This is a note a memo of sorts to remind each of us how we can be a blessing just by being nice.

Kindness has become an odd four letter word. One that all though its appreciated is looked upon as weakness. I’ve actually had people say in a SMH negative fashion your just too nice. I’ve watched people LOL at unkind behavior – it’s all over the TV – it’s all over You-Tube acts of anger acts of rage and just meanness and its glorified. “Girl she told him” There behavior and attitude is used as entertainment and boosting ratings.

I can’t change the world. I’m not able to change the direction we are headed in.

But I can be kind. I can show mercy and when it is dark and cloudy and a nasty attitude just isn’t going to bring you light. I can smile at you and wish you a good day. I can hold the door for you. I can buy you a cup of coffee. I can let you cut in front of me even though I’m running late. I can compliment the beauty that someone else may have missed. I can give you a hug that someone forgot to give you. I can celebrate you being you, by supporting your cause. I can love on you through a text in the morning. I can remind you f God's love.

And maybe just maybe that kind act will change that person and they will pass it on to someone and maybe one day Honor will come back to the four letter word of Kind.

Choose to be kind to even the people who annoy the heck out of you! You never know how it will come back to you. Maybe in a kind word, maybe you will never know, how much your smile improved a dark time? There is strength in kindness, because there is love in it and love is the greatest gift.

How are you going to bring KindNess back?

Hold my mule! aka What are you shouting 'bout John?

Hold my mule!

Song by: Shirley Caesar

Lamentations 3:21-23 – “Great is thy faithfulness Lord!”

  ** Song about a man named John praising God in his field**

Old School Gospel sometimes it takes you there.

 Well for several months a few months ago I was feeling “Mighty low,” like Sophia in the Color Purple.  Sadness and depression became my new normal.  But the little ounce of light in me wouldn’t die out.  I knew this wasn’t where I was supposed to be and I had to get out of it.  So I asked people around me to pray for me and I still didn’t feel a shift.  I thought came to me to wake up listening to Gospel music, to start my day in praise.  To praise God in my circumstance.  Isn’t that what they say do?  I looked at my Pandora list and went straight old school save me Lawd – Georgia Mass Choir.

The music covered my house every room filled up all the dark places and started shining light.  While I was getting my coffee a song I use to love as a child came on.  “Hold my mule” by Shirley Caesar..  I was taken back to wonderful times of breakfast cooking in the kitchen and gospel playing in the background.  Then I came to my now and  I looked around my house and reflected as shouting John did.  I’m forty years old – My momma is still alive.  My brother’s and sister’s love me.  I’ve got a little girl who is a prayer warrior.  I’ve got a Toyota Echo that blows heat in the winter and cool air in the summer and keeps on ticking at 207,000.  And as I glanced at my full fridge knowing that I didn’t have to eat anything in there because I have the means  to go out and get whatever I wanted. I'm fully dressed with a wadrobe to spare.  It's the little things that add up and make a wonderful life.  All these glories outshined any darkness.  My life is alright, real good, right nice!

You may not shout in your church; you might not do the dance down the aisle, but inside your own house with Pandora blasting you are the soloist, you are the music director you are the dance leader spinning down the aisle with your arms raised – “I feel like praising praising Him!” 

In times of sadness, depression, anger, when you feel you just can’t go on.  What song does it for you?  What songs take you to His feet and reminds you that you are wonderfully made and great is his faithfulness? 

Here is mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHpSM0PXuAE

What’s yours? 

All glory to God! Love - Nene
P.S. - Thank you Marlene, you are such a blessing to me.

It's always SOMETHING

“It’s always something!” (To pray about!)


 

Matthew 6:9-13

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,^[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.^[b]

 

 

 

All of us have said this at least once.  Maybe when you’ve planned the perfect outdoor event the weather man has promised clear perfect skies.  The family and friends are gathered and there isn’t a cloud in the sky and suddenly your perfect event is ruined by the sudden argument of a past family feud.  Aunt so and whoever left me such and such.  And even though you had an image of a perfect day it is ruined because all though the background was good, the characters start acting a plum fool.  LOL wait a minute I might be putting to much business out there.

Ok here is a another scenario some of you might be able to relate to.  Not only does the car need repairs, but now the refrigerator is rattling., the washing machine has stopped spinning, and your child just brought home a permission slip for the “Best class trip EVER, MOMMY” and it will only cost $100.

Life’s demands can pile up on us out of anywhere and everywhere at times.  Sitting on our chest and making it hard to breath think and function.  And we cry out to our friends and whoever else will listen “It’s always something!”

Well I present you and yes me to with a challenge – Let’s change this negative affirmation of It’s always something into a powerful statement of success, which may even give each of us peace in the mist.  Let’s start shouting and believe “it’s always something…to pray about!”

As soon as life get’s heavy right when the third bill collector calls and you just satisfied the first two.  Right when you learn you have no vacation time left and the school calls you about your sick child.  Right when you just got a new battery and the heat and your car starts blowing cold.  Cry for one minute (we are only human) and then know Yes there is always something …to pray about.  And pray knowing that He will work out and your favor – God’s going to turn it around.  Even do the turn it around dance if you know it and need to.  No that your prayers change things that they move mountains.  Wipe your tears and laugh and know  that this always something is just one more moment to bring you closer to He that loves you will protect you and loves showing just how much he loves you and he cares!

Yes – It’s always something …TO PRAY ABOUT!

Bake me a cake and bless your neighbors

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Bake me a cake. When i was five or six or maybe older, I will call it the age of licking the bowl. There was nothing greater then my grandmother saying we could bake a cake because I knew I would get to lick the bowl. Food poisoning be darned. I licked the bowl the spoon and the mixer.

It wasn't that my Grandmother Esther was some great baker or that the boxed cake mixed was the best. I'm sure it was the cheapest, we were poor money wise but rich in love. So in my young age you couldn't tell me that the apartment with no air-condition and windows that had to be propped open - that I wasn't living large.

With the cake baking came a point of childish selfishness too. I knew that after this cake was done I would have to take a slice of this cake to almost everybody on the block.

"Alright baby, go take a piece to Ms. Bell and the lady on the high step and of course to Ms Mary and Stan and take some to the Jones's house too!"

Each one of these people were characters in there own right on my small world of a block on 5th & O and DC. But that's for another time. In this case I would pout my way down to each neighbor with a paper plate with in my opinion slices of cake that were too big and more importantly were mine!

Each neighbor thanked me and finally I would go home and get m own piece!

As an adult this memory has stayed with me. My grandmother who was on food stamps living in a small apartment gave from her little and made her Urban block a community, a village by sharing from her little - Her little made us rich. And that legacy of sharing that cake has instilled in me a spirit of sharing and loving.

Why John 3:16? And not love our neighbor as yourself, well God shared his best making this big world a community a village all of us connected because of his GIFT!

The light of God is in all of us let it shine share it and be legacy blessed.

I LOVE YOU - YOU ARE HERE on this Earth because YOU are... fill in the blank. You mean something to somebody who may never even know your name!