Praise...I know it's rough...Praise...I know it hurts...Praise...I see your tears...Praise

Proverbs 22:6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

I was taken aback by an amazing kidnapping story.

First the article made me quite angry and sad that there are people in this world who harm innocent kids.  I don't watch the news often, but when I do I am pressed down by what I see.  People who are angry at one another just because.  Heck like the last Batman movie I saw said, "Sometimes crazy doesn't even have a reason."

Anyway enough of that let me tell you about the amazing joy in this kidnapping.  Apparently this child in Atlanta was playing in his front yard when a man drove up in snatched him.

Sorry I got a side track again. Remember when we were young and the entire town was your playground.  You could play in the woods, next to a field, on any sidewalk, and you were safe.

Ok seriously back to the story.  The child was held captive for about three hours.  In those three hours he sang over and over and over and over and over and over and over again - Every Praise by Hezekiah Walker.

Over and over and over and over again - until he was set free unharmed.  Simply put he got kicked out of the car.  The man couldn't take it anymore!  The child said the man was cursing at him.

Point one he didn't sing save me Jesus...He didn't sing help me Lord...Bless his heart he didn't even call for his Momma.  I ain't gonna  to lie.  I am all the way grown and I would have called out for Momma.  But this child sang a PRAISE song! 

Point two - God dwelled in his praises and the devil couldn't take it.

Hezekiah Walker is a famous gospel singer and he was so moved by the child's act that he went and met the little boy.

Life is hard things don't always go our way.  Sometimes you wonder if you can get any lower, but I tell you what Praise him anyway!

Point three - I'm going find me a song and a verse that I can apply to some situations.  Uh maybe you should too!...Your life depends on it.

The Article

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/10-year-old-sings-gospel-song-defeat-ga-kidnapper-article-1.1761282

The Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Uph7WaFNHU&feature=player_embedded

I know a boat load of people but only a few ride in my ship (Friendship)

I know a boat load of people but only a few ride in my ship (Friendship)

Proverbs 18:24

King James Version (KJV) 24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

I’ve been blessed to live a few decades and walk this earth with the knowledge that I truly have some ride or die flight or fight laugh or cry praying  arguing  hugging supporting  friends (The blessing is in the singular the favor is in the plural).

The word friend is defined as:

• friend/frɛnd/ Show Spelled [frend] Show IPA

noun

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.  

3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?  

4. a member of the same nation, party, etc.

5. ( initial capital letter ) a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

*http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/friend

But what the word friend truly means is personal and much deeper.

My friends and I have had some comical situations that are classified and not to be spoken of again and some sad ones that God truly got us through together.

With Facebook (which for the record I am not knocking Facebook in anyway because when used properly it can be a blessing to family and friendships, and on occasion my dinner table)   you  may have several friends on Facebook and hundreds following you on other social media outlets. Like little kids we want to have lots of friends. It is sort of funny because I know  we all get excited when we get a lot of people who like  our picture or our post, its almost an addictive form of approval.  Again I AIN’T Knocking Facebook!  What I am presenting is a dose of Real, on there.

  I instill in young folks this thought, you really only need one true friend like David, one that is like a brother to you.  Everyone you have beyond that is an extra blessing so honor those relationships with compassion with love in faith and with loyalty. 

In the oh wise words of the rap group Whodini on the Escape album released in 1984 (YIKES) Friends how many of us have them.

All glory to God and oodles of thanks for those who I truly call “FRIEND”

Walking in Son Shine

Walking in Son-Shine 

Oh the day finally came today on April Fool's Day of all days when the calendar date of spring and the beautiful Spring weather converged to bring forth an AMAZING 82 degree day here in the city.

I know some of you may be grumbling because your still watching snow melt, but don't worry I have seen what's coming for you and it is full of cherry blossoms, red cardinals, and the awesome smell of honeysuckle.

I'm from the North, but I have become a shrimp and grits eating,  Sun Drop soda drinking true southern girl.  I like my chicken fried hard and my winter's mild.  To become a true southerner I had to commit to certain saying like, "Bless your heart!"  and "Yawl".   People make fun of these sayings, but quite honestly to me they are poetic and romantic, but that's a conversation for another day.

Today I sat warming up the Echo (don't judge she is an all weather warm up vehicle)  and I watched as people were exiting my office building.  I wish I had a video camera to show you the darkness turn to light. 

Most of us spend all day in the office, we eat at our desk and look out the window at the beautiful sky and before we can fully convince ourselves that we can take ten minutes to go outside, the phone stops our fantasy and its back to the grind.

So it was beautiful to see the gloomy faces as they came out of the shadows of the fluorescent lit hallway and opened the door into sunshine and warmth.  Grown adults showed child like smiles as if it were the end of a school day and they were free to play.  These hard working adults carrying briefcases full of work to take home and tilted their heads up to the Carolina blue sky!  They walked smiling to their cars.  The day may have been rough but God's art work and weather creation made all the stress if only for a moment ALL GOOD.  Ok maybe some of the joy was that they were headed home, but I believe the warm weather fed our souls.

Take the Son (this is not a typo) with you and you can always walk in sunshine.

Walking in Son-Shine

Drive by Prayer...

Drive by prayer (based on a true story)

1 Thessalonians 5:25 - Brothers, pray for us.

My Saturday started off as any other Saturday...Mommy I'm hungry...Honey what's for breakfast?

After the eggs were cracked and eaten coffee and hot chocolate (with a specific number of marshmallows and three cubes of ice and favorite spoon) had been sipped.  It was time to get ready for the 10 billion things I promised I was going to do this weekend.  Like cell phone roll over minutes several things had rolled over from several weeks.

We all finally got out of the house and I was ready to attack my goals, task, and adventures like a task master.  About two minutes into my drive, I got distracted.  Usually signs on the side of the road for fish fries and barbeque get my attention.  This sign was different though.  It actually made me LOL (LAUGH OUT LOUD - Literally - not the fake social media one)

The  yellow sign the man was holding simply said "Drive by Prayer!"

And off to the side there was a little tent set up in the strip mall parking lot and some other people holding up signs that said Drive by Prayer...

I couldn't resist I mean come on!!!!

So I pulled the Echo into the parking lot (All you Echo fans she's still hanging in there!) 

One of the sign holders spoke over my laughter and said would you like us to pray for you.  I sure do this is Awesome!  She then asked if I would turn off my car and while I sat still belted in the driver's seat she prayed for me!  This lady who has never seen me a day in her life prayed.  Then a gentleman came over to the car with a bag lunch and a bottle of water for me.  I started the Echo back up and off I went, full of love, faith, and a church bag lunch.

Best roadside distraction I have EVER had.

Random acts of kindness are priceless, but random prayers well I choose to believe those are eternal.

Pray for yourself, pray for your family, pray for that dude just walking by!

Cannot get GPS signal in this area

Cannot get GPS signal in this area subtitled (Uh YES YOU CAN)

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

I was driving along headed to an event.  I was familiar with the area but not the exact location.  Because I had a concept of where I was going, I turned down my GPS because I was listening to a song I like.  As I approached the spot where I knew I would need help, I turned the GPS up so I could hear further instructions.

Instead of that kind lady's voice (by the way did you know that you have to pay to hear a man's voice direct you on GPS - weird right) telling me what to do at this very major intersection and this is what I heard:

Cannot get GPS signal in this area

Uh excuse me yes you can I said out loud to the GPS lady, you better be able to get GPS signal because the light is green and I need to know which way to go.

She ignored me as I made an executive decision to turn right and continued to proclaim that I cannot get GPS service in this area.

Now the reasonable prudent person would possibly pull over and adjust and try to figure out the route from a safe parking lot.  Maybe circling the lot a couple of times until service was returned. 

Oh KNOW not me I drove full speed ahead, convinced that I was going the right way and GPS needed to catch up with me.

I'm sure you are all also familiar with this GPS term: REROUTING - please make a U-turn where ever it is safe.

I had headed blindly in the wrong direction with no backup plan.

So lesson number one, I really need to rethink my service provider.

Lesson number two, how often have I gone in the wrong direction full speed ahead and gone the wrong way.

Lesson number three, God will never guide you down the wrong path, but you got to be in a position to receive the signals he's giving you.

I pray you are always in God's range, knowing that if you get lost he will seek out even one!

Who would you sit with?

Proverbs 3:

^5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all...

I really had been wrestling with what to write about.  Nothing had moved me.  Let me explain, when I am blessed to write this blog, God sort of tickles my belly/my spirit.  I can see the blog and feel it all around me and I will write on whatever is near me or text myself, what I feel God wants to be the content of the blog.

I actually felt motivated  to write about Mary and the expensive oil, but it didn't come to me as clearly as usual, so I watched TV.  God gave me some insight as I watched a documentary that happened to come on about Mary and I quickly learned that more research was needed.

This blog came to me as I was reading over a Facebook post that I had posted.  It wasn't an original it was a post that I shared from someone else.  The picture in the post showed a beautiful blue sky, a calm beach and a small bench and the question on the post was past or present if you could sit on this bench for one hour, who would you sit with?

I found so much beauty in that question.  I didn't think big or even famous.  I thought it would be so wonderful to sit with my Grandma Esther and talk and laugh and well see what she thought about her little Nene.  And I would try my best in that hour to remember to ask her how to make that Southern cough syrup with onions that was better than anything on the market.  I would listen closely to each sound that came out of her mouth, some for content, but mostly so that I could hold on to the sound of her voice.  And I would ask her if they drink Gin in little plastic cups in Heaven.  I know that question would make her laugh and I would memorize her laugh!

The post reminded me of the beautiful of this world, the love that last whether someone is here or not.  The desire for us folks to understand to be connected and maybe for some of us to say I'm sorry I love you I forgive you or heck maybe even where did you hide the money!

God loves us so much that he forgives us quickly, he reminds of his love consistently.  If allowed the opportunity to sit on a bench with God.  I do believe I would just sit there and rest my soul.  No questions, no answers, just his aurora and mine admiring his creation.

I want you to know that peace is with you, love is with you.  God is with you on that bench and he is SMILING!!