A penny for your thoughts , a nickel for your kiss, a dime if you tell me that you love me!

(Subtitled – Use your common cents or everything has value) I’m not sure which one I’m going to pick yet.

   

Galatians 6:2 - Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

Life God this world has a cool way of speaking to you.  I wish I could say that these blogs are all my creation, scratch that I’m glad to say that God gives me a taste of his creativeness when he gives me an idea to write about. 

The blog moments often seem to go in slow motion when He opens my eyes to see something that he wants me to get my blog on with.

So this posting is brought to you by my gas station moment.  I have a thing for ice – a serious 5 to 10 cup 32 oz  a day thing for ice.  And I’m picky about my ice; I prefer my ice clear cubed or slightly crushed.  I don’t like snow cone ice, but prefer the very nice cubes of Circle K (a small mini market/gas station chain) or my Mom’s refrigerator ice.

Yes I’ve heard that if you crave ice you may have an iron deficiency.  In my case I’m not a doctor (even though I played one as a child) I believe my crave for ice is more of a desire to hear the crunch of it.  Don’t know why but it calms my nerves.  Yes my nerves may be calm because I’m focused on the pain that it causes my teeth.  Either way I like the stuff.

So there I stood in line at Circle K, I had my 42 oz cup of ice (I knew it was going to be a long day and I would need a bigger cup) in hand and I was the second person in line.  This is where God’s slow motion sequence imaging came into view.  The man in front of me dropped a penny while he was digging through a large old leather wallet.  I watched it in case he needed someone to point out where his money had landed.  He saw it though and he looked down at that  penny on the floor and decided it wasn’t worth bending down for and left it there. (this is my interpretation of the moment - him gritting on the penny and turning away from it.)

Now I’m not one to judge (seriously I try not to judge, because I know my frying pan ain’t clean either) I don’t know why he didn’t pick it up.  He could have been lazy, tired, rich or whatever.  I choose to assume God made him leave it there for the purposes of this blog.  Next in line and at the register to pay .27 cents for my large cup of ice, I too considered not picking up the penny.  To pick it up would take some commitment and coordination on this old/young body.  One  I would  have to sit my ice down, balance my too large but super cute purse, so it wouldn’t pull me over when I bent and then more than likely I was going to groan when I stood back up or at the least my knee was going to crack. 

 

My mind did a flashback like in the movies and I saw homeless people who beg for money, I saw a woman who couldn’t buy her kid the 35 cent blow pop.  I thought about people in other countries who earned less in a day than the cup of ice I was buying.  I balanced my purse sat down my ice and took the time to pick that penny up.  (I groaned don’t judge me LOL)

Even the smallest value has value when it’s combined with something.   That little penny is the start of wells being built in countries with no clear water.  That little penny is a part of a chair at a new church.   That little penny hung out with several other little pennies and helped a single mom feed her kids. 

So if you are blessed enough to find a penny on the ground that someone may not have felt the need to pick up because of its small value, pick it up.  There are so many other pennies out there waiting to be combined with thoughts and love and developed into a shelter, food, clean water school supplies for another humans.  And maybe if we all got all our pennies together, nobody would be hungry, nobody would be without a blanket and everybody would learn that when things of small value are combined they can make one big heck of a difference. 

In Jesus name I pray!

 

Warriors come out and plaayaa

 (subtitled Warrior’s come out and PRAY).

 

Matthew 26:36 - Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 

Warriors come out and play!  Let me explain the title and the quote because although this movie is a classic (At least on my list, which also includes The Matrix and Pleasentville).   “Warriors come out and play! (he actually says playaa)” is a movie quote from the movie The Warriors (1979).  And the movie The Warriors is about this gang named no surprise, Warriors, who are accused of killing a gang icon while at a Gang rally where all the gangs from various burrows were gathered in an attempt to promote peace among the gangs.  I can’t even imagine gangs getting together like this now, but that is a blog for another day.  Anyway all the gangs at the rally agree on one thing after the icon is shot  and  that is that the members of the Warriors gang are not going to make it back to their  Coney Island turf alive! 

 This leads me in to my Tuesday - my intercessory prayer day (don’t ask how it leads me there just enjoy the ride.) Praying on Tuesdays started several years ago when I would get together with some great women at my job and we would pray in our break room.  It was amazing people would stop us or email us and ask us to put particular people on the list  who needed prayers (from family members to friends to strangers that they had just happen to come across)   We had a notebook and we would put the Thank you notes in there as well, for answered prayers.    Over the years the group has sort of dissolved.  New jobs, layoffs, relocations, and other factors broke up our little group, but it stayed in my heart and I am sure many of their hearts as well.

Today (Tuesday)  besides stating that I had no idea what i was going to blog about.  I also commented that I needed someone to pray with.  (I stated this out loud to the universe myself and a few of my coworkers)  I thought of a few folks but it didn’t feel right.  I asked God to give me someone to pray with and like some of my prayers I forgot I had asked and went on with my day.  While I was working at work (don’t laugh it happens) I glanced over at my cell phone which was respectfully put on silent because people had gotten annoyed at my “Madagascar Afro Circus: ringtone – And low and  behold it was one of my old prayer partners.  We don’t work together any longer.  I just shook my head thanked God ended my business call and decided it was time for lunch. 

I called my prayer partner, former coworker, sister girl, from my cell phone as soon as I got in the car.  The first time no answer and the second time she picked up and there was a lot of background noise.  She was in Trader Joe’s (wonderful small grocery store) and I said child I was looking for someone to pray with and I didn’t know who.  She said I know it‘s Tuesday right.  She was in the grocery store but she found a spot to be still in and we prayed and interceded in such an awesome way that I’m sure the Sprint phone lines were even shouting glory.  And to Sprints credit no scratch that too God’s credit the call didn’t drop.

I don’t know any secret formula or particular ways to pray, whether you should stand up, kneel, or lay down.

But I do know an amazing Warrior who prayed.  Jesus – Not only did he pray he gave suggestions on how other’s could pray.  Now think about this if Jesus who is the right hand of God the Father sees a need to pray, then Wow.  I may not be as forgiving as Jesus and I may not have the faith that he has (which I believe is WAY bigger than a mustard seed) but in my desire to work towards being like my spiritual brother savior and Lord – I sure as heck can pray.

Don’t be scared your home turf is vast and waiting for you Warriors come out and PPRRRAAYYYY!

Bob Ross ...You were one wise dude!

“The Joy of Painting” all these years later this dude still moves me! Aka Bob Ross I never painted but you sure taught me a lot!





 
^{Matthew 18 (MSG)2-5} For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me.

 

Ah remember this show or this man.?

If not let me tell you about one of the most enthrallingly calming sedative can't take your eyes off it shows. The one man show "The Joy of Painting" staring Bob Ross painting. After the Saturday morning cereal digested and the wonder twins had activated into the form of a bucket and a glacier and Scooby and his crew had solved a crime - scaring the heck out of me but proving that monsters are not real.

 

Next was The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross for some reason I was hypnotized. I didn't paint while I watched I didn't grow up to be an artist, but if I did I would  have to thank him. Even though I never tried in his simple calming instruction, Mr. Bob had me believing I could paint a mountain scene complete with tall oaks and a waterfall, just with the twist of my brush. There was not much in the way of camera angles on this show - Just a long shot mid shot and close up. Bob spoke soothingly hypnotically of how you could gently move the brush or sponge over the quiet canvas and the canvas would reveal a beautiful scene. There wasn't even jazzed up music in the background, but I sat there stuck watching what image his calm strokes would bring forth.
 

Remembering this I remembered the simplicity of life. 13 inch screen not really a black and white screen but not really color either especially in comparison to the HD TVs now. I didn't need more I didn't want less. Ok honestly I was a kid so I wanted toys, but I could easily forget about toys if I went outside and played. Nothing was greater than watching Mr. Bob then throwing on play clothes and spending hours outside playing hopscotch, hot bread and butter and some homemade games which sometimes included you dodging rocks or racing a junebug you had caught and tied to a string. It would be to cliché to say how I miss the good old days, but dang it if I don't.  

A few years ago a friend of mine came over one day and I caught them staring at me. Initially I thought wow I must be easy on the eyes, but that thought was quickly changed when he asked the question, "Seriously, do you ever just sit still!" Nope! I laughed as i picked up toys, took out the trash started dinner, held a conversation and helped with homework!  I still think as I race through my house doing a lot of stuff, or when I'm at work doing a lot of stuff, or when I'm driving and thinking about a lot of stuff, even when I pray my mind will drift towards stuff.

 

I can’t blame the world for chaos only myself.  You choose the life you live or at least you indulge  in the life that creeps up on you before you realize that you are in the funnel of the storm.  I’m going for the eye of the storm living that peaceful place in the dead center of it all.  I will follow my dreams, I won’t get caught up in the chaos around me.  I will focus on my goals just like the simple brush strokes of Mr. Bob and this life will be as beautiful and a simple as the brush strokes that create mountains.  I will sit still and rest in the waterfalls.  He gave me peace and now like the power of the Super friends in my Saturday morning cartoons I will activate….into the form of a blessing, in the form of love and in the shape of peace.

 

God POWER Activate!

 

 

 “True genius lies in simplicity.” (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)

In honor of Bob Ross here is his link they have "Happy Tree" T-shirts
http://www.bobross.com/gifts.cfm

I am Commited (no not the institution kind) subtitled I'm doing the thang!

I’m Commited (subtiled no I don’t mean institutionalized!!!) 

Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

 

I’ve got to tell you I struggled writing this but in my commitment to this He has remained committed to me.  I put the computer down turned off the cell phone and worried that maybe this week this blog thing wasn’t going to happen.  In the form of a friend who I love but don’t speak to often – BAM – He gave it to me so…here we go.

I struggle with commitment.  I often ponder my life- reflect whatever and I think Wow you lack commitment as I count the things I’ve started and not finished.  Master’s program (just three more classes  to go)  knitting I can make a satisfactory keep you warm scarf but I got stumped at the increase decrease part and don’t even get me started on tassels and casting off.  There are volumes of things I’ve started and didn’t finish because it bored me, it got too frustrating to be consider relaxing (hot yoga – REALY) or well I just wasn’t committed!

Unfortunately that last sentence also can apply to a varying (I refuse to say many) number of dating relationships that I’ve had in my life.  Yes I am one to complain that there are no good prospects out there for me.  I’m not Catholic but I have lit my fair share of candles in the hopes that my prayer attached to that flame would flicker in God’s eyes and poof he would give me the right one.  Under the light of a pity party though well maybe the one came and went and I missed that person because of my lack of commitment.

Woooossshhhhh (That is the sound of me blowing the pity party cake candles out-party over)  Now let’s talk about who I am and who you are and who we are growing to be.  I am committed yeah I said it and the ghost of dates past may pop out and shout otherwise but it’s true.  I am committed to this life thing, living and loving and believing and praying and laughing and learning.  I’m committed to God – Yep I said that too (technically I wrote it).  I love the Dude.  I’m no saint far from it, but I still love Him.  I sing with Him and He doesn’t even mind my tone deafness or my inability to carry a note.

 

I’m not big on telling folks my peeves one because I don’t have many and two because well I usually work to get pass them and just love folks, but there is one that I can’t get pass… When somebody looks me in my beautiful brown eyes and says you have missed your calling.  Be it my calling for comedy my calling for acting writing or whatever gift I’m presenting at that moment.  I think to myself Nope I just used my calling you just didn’t know you were worthy enough to be blessed by it (a little ego tripping there).  I’m saying that to say I’m committed to riding this roller coaster ride until the end, loops twirls and even the death defying drops.  I’m committed not until the fat lady sings (because I sing in the shower all the time)  I’m committed until the line goes flat and the unbroken beep sings and then you know what I’m on to my next adventure fully committed.

Give yourself some credit today be proud of the things you are committed too.  You never missed your calling you are living it right now, so be the best and be a blessing to somebody else, because you are already a blessing to me!   If you are breathing then you are committed to living so make the best of it, until the flat line sings! 

Ebenezer Scrooge...you say bah humbug...I say blessed stone!

(subtitled this dude got type cast) or (My Ebenezer MOMENT)

1 Samuel 7: 12  Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens  is one of my favorite holiday stories and movies.  The book  was published in 1843 and the American version of the movie  came about in 1938.  And here we are in 2013 and we are still talking about it, buying it and sharing it.  To watch or read it is a tradition in many homes.  It just isn’t the holidays if I don’t see at least one version of A Christmas Carol and of course A wonderful Life.

But back to A Christmas Carol and good old Ebenezer Scrooge. I don’t care the spin that is put on it – It could be the Mickey Mouse version, the Twilight Zone version, Jim Carey (remake) or the original  black and white I love it and I’m always excited at the end when he sees the errors of his ways and takes on the true meaning of the holiday (Yes even on my 100^th viewing tissue and a deep sigh are usually involved)   If you’ve never seen it (good googaly where have you been) The movie is about an old man who because of life events has become a mean dude who has a lot of material goods but a cold heart and a cold office too.  He gives little of his heart or materials to others or for that matter even himself (FYI love yourself)    He is visited by an old ghost of a friend who warns him.  Man you going down a lonely path (Senetra interpretation).  He is then blessed with being able to witness his past, his now, and his future).  He learns a lesson about who he was, is and who he can be all in one night. (I’m slightly jealous of his revelation because I’m four score into this party and still don’t have a clear picture( but I am enjoying the ride- and NO THANK YOU ON THE GHOSTLY VISITS)

Anyway believe it or not this is not about Christmas or the reflection of the past the present and the future.  This is about the name Ebenezer!

Ebenezer was quite a popular name in the 1800s but did you know it’s also a biblical name!  Who knew that’s what I said any way when I heard a minister make a comment about calling a monument an Ebenezer – A stone of help.

*The word "Ebenezer" comes from Hebrew and is actually two words pronounced together: Even Haazer. Written in Hebrew it looks like this: 

 

I am excited amazed humbled and blessed to say that on Friday April 26, 2013, somewhere out on this beautiful planet a person read my blog and I was met with meeting a monument/a stone on this God journey of blogging, reaching 1500 hits.  Basically what that means is that someone (possibly my family or me) have accessed the blog 1500 times!  I know it isn’t just my mom LOL, but I clearly remember when God told me to blog and I thought, I don’t know how to do that.  Heck I still don’t people often ask how can I follow your blog (I’m working on it, but right now...)my answer is I don’t know.  To see that people have viewed it in China, Russia, London, and Venezula is amazing, not because I’m  great, but because God has taken me places I’ve never been. 

So this blog, this writing this moment is my Ebenezer – God my stone of help moment- My ode, my grammatically incorrect love card to you who have read it and to God who promotes it and to us who are connected because of this.

I love you.  I thank you.  I pray for you.  I delight in you.  May God’s blessings always be upon you.  You are my blessings you make up my Ebenezer moment. 

God you are my stone of help!  More priceless than the hope diamond.  You make us we this Priceless. 

Hey what are your Ebenezer moments?  I would love to celebrate with you.

 

* Source: http://www.revneal.org/Writings/whatsan.htm  

And it Begins: NoSir…I ain’t answering that!! (Who's calling ME?!...

And it Begins: NoSir…I ain’t answering that!! (Who's calling ME?!...: No Sir…I ain’t answering that!!   (Who's calling ME?!) Deuteronomy 4:36    He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct...

No Sir…I ain’t answering that!! (Who's calling ME?!)

Deuteronomy 4:36    He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it.

 

There was a time oh just a few decades ago when you had to muffle your voice or simply hope for the best when you answered the phone, because you never knew who was going to be on the other line when you answered.   

One of my Aunt’s always sounded like you woke her from a sound sleep when you called her until she figured out who you were then she was all the way live.  Jabbering and going on. 

We’ve all done it sometimes you didn’t have it in you to tell the telemarketer no so you just pretended like you weren’t the lady or the man of the house and you advised that poor hardworking telemarketer (I use to be one it’s not the most loving field to go into) that the owner of the house had moved to Cambodia on safari and would not be returning, hoping that they would take you off their list, but bless their hearts they always called back the next day. 

Then like technology magic our phone system evolved first away with the rotary, then to the cordless and then loe and behold caller ID!!

Caller ID the enemy of telemarketers and bill collectors.  We’ve evolved so much in this arena that I don’t even have to look at the phone, some phones speak the caller’s name or you can just glance up at the TV, where the caller id displays  and lazily decide if you should even make a motion for the phone!

Several years ago a funny (ok funny to me, not so much for my Aunt Emily who was probably in her late eighties  or early nineties)  She had the caller ID and was quite tickled by it.  People loved calling her because she was full of history and kindness and wisdom.  One day her phone rang and like any person with a reasonable amount of sense would do she checked the caller id first.  The name that came across was Adele Jenkins.  My Aunt looked at that phone for a long time and decided she wasn’t going to pick up this call!  You see Adele was my great Aunt and Aunt Emily’s sister who had died a few years prior to this phone call. 

I hollared when I heard this story.  My great Aunt Adele was beautiful but known for being mean and rather cut throat to folks.  Personally I adored her she use to make me sugar sandwiches!  I never heard many kind words about her from family, so if Adele was calling from the grave clearly my Aunt Emily felt the conversation wasn’t going to go to well. 

We later learned that Aunt Adele had gotten one of my cousins house phones in her name.It didn’t matter prior to caller ID because you couldn’t see the name of the biller on the phone.  And I bet  a lot of family members were ignoring or not returning calls to my cousin, because the caller ID was coming up with the name of my dearly (sugar butter sandwhich making) departed Aunt Adele.

This was so many years ago, but it still cracks me up!!!  It also made me think about how God speaks to us.  I believe I’ve written before I talk to God and he does talk back.  He speaks through images and sometimes words, He speaks to both my mind and my heart and my ears.  Even sometimes through my writing.  There are a lot of people who don’t believe He speaks at all and you know what that is there business and human right to believe that (I still got nothing but love for you).   But this is the part that makes me sad is that some poor folks think they aren’t worthy to even hear from God. 

He spoke to Moses, through a burning bush, because maybe that’s how Moses needed to hear God.   He spoke to David through Psalms.  Samuel heard voices.  Jesus communicated through prayer.  Everybody has their own way its personal and all yours.  Check your God caller ID verify how he’s trying to call your name.  Let me be real sometimes I don’t like what He says and I would have to believe that He doesn’t like what I say, but isn’t that the depth of communication anyway!  Isn't that love.

My prayer is that  one know you are worth talking to even in your darkest places.  Two enjoy a great conversation every day with God.