First, let me explain why the blogs have been so sporadic as of late. A few weeks ago, I was in the midst of a very busy time, and when I write, I like to write from the heart. Even when I repost a past blog, I want it to be relevant versus random. So, I took a break to prepare for the IMMERSE conference and get in the right frame of mind to receive what God had for me there. There were a couple of days during the conference when I felt led to share some thoughts, so I did.
It was my intention to get the blog back to its daily distribution this week; however, my oldest nephew graduated yesterday from the school where I teach, so no blog. My conclusion through all of this is that I want those who read this blog to have fresh perspectives, so I am only going to post when God lays something on my heart to share. That means posts will be more sporadic, but I pray that you will continue to read because I intend to write high quality content. All of this leads to today's blog. While I was in a class at IMMERSE about songwriting and rewriting music, one of the panelists said something that really hit home with me. I cannot remember her name and, unfortunately, I did not write it down, but I will never for get her words. She said (paraphrased), "A lot of artists are reluctant to change their songs because they say, 'This is how God gave it to me and I cannot change it,' but God also gave us whole eggs and that's not how we eat them. Now, I am not the biggest fan of eggs, so the thought of just biting into an eggs, shell and all, and having all of the yolk and everything spill into or on the sides of my mouth nearly made me gag. But, the point was that we should not be so rigid in receiving gifts from God that we are reluctant to make them the best they can be. I started thinking about all of the ways people eat eggs. Some people do eat whole raw eggs, but not with the shell on them. I prefer mine in an omelet or mixed in with a bunch of other breakfast foods after being scrambled hard. Some people prefer sunny-side-up, runny, or fried eggs. Still others like hard-boiled eggs. But, this is not a blog about eggs. This is a message about taking God's gifts seriously enough that you are willing to change when He gives you wisdom to change the shape of the gift, whether it is directly or through someone else. Because I started this blog as a daily blog, I thought, I would always post something everything, but instead, Now that it has been nearly a year and a half, I think it's time to listen to God and write when He gives me something new. I would be doing a disservice to anyone who read Ms. EV's blog if I did anything more of less. Thanks for hanging in there on this journey with me. I pray that you find ways to apply these lessons to your life. Ms. EV
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I apologize for the late hour of this post. Please understand that in my life, my priorities are God, then family, and then everything else, so I just got home from supporting my "kids" at a track meet. I tried to post something while I was there, but ended up sending a blank blog :/ So here goes the real post; it is a re-post, but deals with attitudes just like yesterday.
My niece wants to be a teacher like her mother and I. The difference is that she knows she would like to be a teacher now. Her mother and I both had other careers, aspirations, and experiences prior to teaching. I think both us still have dreams that go beyond teaching. But, my niece is pretty determined that this is what she wants to do, so today, she shadowed me. She watched me in my class. Now, I am very, very frank and candid with my older nephews and niece, I keep it real, so I did not sugarcoat anything that I did in class today. There was no show; it was all real. I needed to confront my students on some behaviors that were displeasing to me. Normally, this would not occur in front of an audience, but it had to be done now because it is the middle of the last quarter and there is only a short amount of time to correct bad behavior. So, after my correcting yesterday, I knew that I had to approach the issue with sensitivity and grace. You know the saying, “You can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar?” Well, I really don’t know why anyone wants to catch flies, but that’s not the point. The point is that in this particular moment, the attention of my students was the fly. I could have laid into them; I had plenty of ammunition. Instead, I took a soft, but stern approach. And, although, they didn’t say much to me, word travelled back around that my approach was appreciated. Time will tell if my audience was indeed moved to action, but when I asked my niece what she learned. She replied, “That your kids need to do their work,” Then, I asked her for her honest opinion on how I handled the situation and she said I handled it well. That meant more to me than any reaction from my students. As a Christian, it is not always easy to find the balance between nice and mean. I think I’ve written about it several times in the last couple of weeks because it is an area I am working on personally. My desire is for others to see Christ in me, but that does not mean that I am to be disrespected because I show grace and mercy. This entire situation was a great lesson in how we treat God. He gives us opportunity after opportunity to follow His Will, and yet, many times, we disrespect Him and take His kindness for granted. So, I understand why, in the Old Testament, God took people out in those situations because initially that’s how I felt. But, I am so glad that He sent Jesus and sees us through Jesus’ eyes, with grace and mercy. I hope I get the results I desire, but I will not be a salty light or spread venomous vinegar around to get my “flies.” I will listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and behave accordingly. Ms. EV I went back to work today after a busy, yet restful week and a half break. One of my favorite parts about being off from work is sleeping in until I felt like getting out of bed. I love my job; I just wish I could make my own hours! Everyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a morning person. However, because my job requires me to actually communicate with other human beings by 7:30am, I have made adjustments to try to be somewhat personable.
So, this morning, when my alarm went off at 6:15am, I was determined to make it a great day. God has been so good to me and I needed to reflect that as I returned to work. I thought of something I have heard former pro football player, Deion “Prime Time” Sanders say, “Look good, feel good; feel good, play good; play good, pay good.” While I knew that my outward appearance would have no actual effect on the amount of my paycheck (if it did, I would be a LOT richer…LOL), I took Sanders’ motto in a more figurative sense. According to several compliments today, apparently I did, in fact, look good. I was careful to pick out clothing that would give me confidence and to make sure my hair was acting right (anyone with thick. naturally curly hair knows what I’m talking about). I did not do these things because I was trying to impress anyone; I did them because I needed to motivate myself to leave the house. When I looked in the mirror before I left, I liked what I saw and it gave me a little pep in my step. It made the early hour I left the house a little more bearable. And, while, as I said, looking good won’t increase my paycheck, going to work with a great, let’s-do-this attitude led to a pretty fantastic day. My job felt more rewarding today. All it took was a little attitude adjustment. Maybe, for you, it’s not an outward change that will give you a spring in your step. Maybe it’s just a good night’s sleep. Or, maybe it is taking the time to truly realize that God’s got this. Whatever it is, try to discover that little adjustment that will make your day a little brighter. The more positive you are, the greater impact you have on those around you. Ms. EV So, I was watching one of many reality television shows that I tend to watch (don’t judge me), and one of the women, who is a singer/songwriter, but also dabbles in the adult entertainment industry, said, very casually, “I think I want to try a gospel record.” Through the magic of television, by the end of the episode, she had written the song and arranged to have a very high-profile gospel artist sing the song with her. On the next episode, they recorded the song.
Many of you may know that I am not just a blogger, I also write music. I have been writing for many years. As my relationship with Christ has grown, I have been more in tune with how He would have me use this gift. When I started writing, I wrote what I knew would be amazingly popular pop ballads. I would write inspirational music every once in a while. Then, I started writing more Christian, inspirational songs and less pop/R&B songs. One day, my computer crashed and the only songs that I had a hard copy of were the Christian, inspirational songs. For most of this time, my songs were words on a page and a melody in my head. Then, God blessed me with the ability to play chords on the guitar, which led me to where I am now. I have been humbled by the response to my music and the doors that have opened. Nevertheless, when I saw this young lady so casually decide to dabble in the gospel industry, it cut me to the core. How could she accomplish in such a short period of time something that I am so committed to and doing for the right reasons? It just seemed unfair! Then, the voice of reason (my mom--God uses her in this role A LOT!) told me that I cannot look at what happens with other people. I have to keep my eyes on what God is telling me to do. God can use anybody to spread His message. And, guess what, He does not have to get my approval. I just heard a voice saying, “Stay in your lane.” I actually have an affirmation on my mirror that reminds me to stay in my lane because I find myself looking at others and getting frustrated when it is really none of my business. When you are driving, if you stare into the side view mirrors for too long, eventually, you will start drifting into another lane, possibly causing a collision. That is not what God wants. He wants to use each of His children for His glory. All that matters is that His Name is praised and that souls that are lost are being reached. If I am confident that God can and will make a way for my music ministry, then it does not matter what someone else does. Sure, I can make the claim that it upsets me because it seems that she is making a mockery of an industry that I want to break into, but that is God’s business not mine. And, the Bible promises in Galatians that God is not mocked. Either way, we each need to focus on what God has for us, not what He has for others. It will make for a much more peaceful existence. Ms. EV I have a serious problem. I have been suffering with it for about eighteen years. I should probably consult my doctor and have her order some x-rays because I am sure that my right foot is made of lead. Or, at least that is what I am told. (If you don’t get the joke, keep reading, let it marinate, and it will come to you). For as long as I can remember, I have been driving, “with the flow of traffic.” I have even picked on my dad because he so vigilantly obeys the rules of the road. In fairness, I have only ever driven a Corolla and a Sentra. If you have ever driven those cars, then you know that you only know you are speeding if you are looking at the speedometer because the ride is so smooth.
In college, my friends and I went on a trip and in our haste to get there, the driver (not me) sped through a construction zone and we got pulled over. I felt horrible because the ticket was going to be very expensive. So, I put on the performance of my life with tears, fake illness, the works, and we got out with a warning. After college, I got four speeding tickets over about a yearlong time period. I tried the tears on three of the four occasions, but it didn’t work. I had to go to driver’s school to get the points off of my license. Then, on my bar application, I had to put the details of my traffic violations, and once that was submitted, if I got another ticket, I would have to pay to amend the application. So, I changed my ways. I kept speeding, but I was much more observant about where the police officers were hiding. And, that worked until a few nights ago. I was on my way home from a hallelujah good time at an open mic night, and I drove past a police officer with someone pulled over and continued on my way home, as always, driving with the flow of traffic. Then, I saw a car pull up fairly close behind me and the lights came on with just enough siren to get my attention. I thought, “Surely he is not pulling me over for speeding. Maybe my taillight was not properly fixed or something.” My heart started racing and my palms started sweating. I rolled down the window to find a very stern looking police officer, who probably thought I was much younger than I am because my eyes started tearing as soon as he began to explain to me why he pulled me over, which was speeding and not giving enough space for the officer on the side of the road. He took my license and I started praying because I truly did not know the rule that I broke and I had not paid attention to my speed, so I was not speeding purposely. I got a very firm talking to and a warning, praise God, because who wants a $300-$400 ticket. I was still shaking the entire 2 blocks to my house (yes, I was that close to home). I thought, “Lord, I am thankful that you softened this officer’s heart.” Then, I began to wonder why he let me off with a warning. Maybe it was because he saw my God Belongs In My City t-shirt. Maybe it was the tears. Then, the fleshly side of me voiced the opinion that he didn’t have any proof of exactly how fast I was going because he hadn’t actually clocked me. Nevertheless, when it comes down to it, I didn’t approach the situation with the attitude that he needed to show my evidence of my wrongdoing. Instead, I had a sincerely contrite heart and the officer, and God, showed me mercy. So, what is the point of all of this? This incident taught me a lesson about my attitude towards rules. In this world, we have laws and rules, but more important than that, God gives His children boundaries. Our attitude towards those boundaries can determine how prosperous our lives are. (By the way, if we follow all of God’s commands, there will be no problem keeping man’s laws). Our attitude about rules stems from how we look at rules. I will take the traffic laws, for example, I usually see the speed limit as a flexible guideline. Sure, it says limit, but as long as you are driving safely and not harming anyone else, what is the big deal with breaking the rules. This is the same attitude with which people approach premarital sex, overindulgence in food and drink and many other sins. When God tells us not to engage in these activities, it is for our spiritual, emotional, mental and physical well-being. He is not calling us to adapt His commands to our own lifestyle. Sometimes, I look at the rules of the road as frustrating annoyances. I do not just get in my car to drive around. I have places to go and people to see and anything that slows my pace is annoying. Does this sound familiar at all? Why do I have to yield to other drivers? Or slow down at a yellow light? Or drive ten miles an hour so that other people can rubberneck at an accident? Many times I just wish I had a teleporter to get me from one place to another. At times, we view God’s boundaries as frustrating annoyances, too. It is as if we think God is holding out on us. And that is literally the oldest trick in the book. It is the same philosophy that the serpent used to deceive Eve in the garden. God is not going to keep anything good from us. He already has given and still continues to give us more than we deserve. All He asks for is that we show our love through obedience. God’s boundaries are not flexible guidelines or frustrating annoyances, they are fervent protection. As my uncle, Rev. Paige, said yesterday in his sermon, “God loves us too much to allow us to sin successfully.” If our attitude about rules becomes one of gratitude for protection from dangers seen and unseen, then we will gain a whole new perspective on how much God loves us. I work with children, they beg for boundaries, not literally, of course, but it is very obvious that they thrive on knowing that I will give them guidelines to lead them in the right direction. We need boundaries to show us the right direction for our best lives. And the sooner, we embrace an attitude of thankfulness that God cares enough to lead us in the right direction, the sooner we will fully enjoy our life’s journey. Ms. EV I once heard Joyce Meyer pose the question, “If Christianity were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Now, last year, those of us who followed the Casey Anthony trial saw just how important evidence is to getting a conviction. Though, the “court of public opinion” had already convicted Ms. Anthony, twelve jurors could not find conclude, based on the evidence presented by prosecutors that she was guilty. Think about it. Does your life give witness to your commitment to Christ? This is not just about who the public sees; this is about who you are when only God is watching.
Sometimes we live our lives as if Sunday is the only day that matters. We live however we want to live Monday through Saturday, but when Sunday rolls around, it is time to get everything right with God. You know the routine. At dusk, you roll over to the person who is not your spouse and tell him or her, “You don’t have to go home, but you have to get the (fill-in-the-blank) out of here! I’m going to church!” That person cannot be in your bed when the sun comes up on Sunday morning because, at times, we act like Sunday is the only day that God can see what we are doing. Once the bed is clear, we try to get some sleep, so we can stay awake in church, and be sure to give our loudest “Amens” and “Hallelujahs.” Then, we get dressed, get in the car, turn from The Beat or I Heart Radio to The Light or PURE Radio, and head to church. At church, we sing we clap our hands, and we take notes on the sermon. We live our Sunday life as holy as possible; no drinking (even though the game is on), no fussing (even if people cannot drive), no cussing (even if it is the only way to express the intensity of what you are saying) because we are remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy. Maybe this is not your Sunday. For several years it was my Sunday. I felt like I could make up for a week’s worth of living like God didn’t exist with one day of repentant faithfulness. Perhaps, it is not literally Sunday living that you display. But, be very honest with yourself. Do you live as though God is aware of everything that you do 24/7/365? Is there enough evidence in your life to show that you are a Christian? God wants our best every single day. It is no different than what we want from the people who claim to love us. As Destiny’s Child said, “Say my name, say my name, when no one is around you, say baby I love you if you ain’t running game?” Are we trying to run game on God by putting forth a half-hearted public display of love? We would not accept that from our loved ones. Why should He accept it? We are human and we will make mistakes, but that is not an excuse to keep making the same mistakes over and over or to only live as a witness part-time. One time, my best friend and I were boarding a flight to New York. It had been a long morning. The flight was crowded. As we boarded, people kept stopping to put bags in the overhead bins, which was really annoying because they would stop and then the person behind you runs into you because that person is not paying attention. So, at some point, I started mumbling something or other under my breath in frustration. I really do not remember what I said. I honestly do not think that I cursed, but there is a possibility that I did or that the tone of what I said sounded like I did. In any case, a woman who was already seated made a comment about my griping. And so, I looked at her sweetly, and said, “Thank you for pointing that out to me. I really appreciate your candor in helping me walk according to the Word of God and the life that He would have me live.” NOT! (But I wish I had). I actually said, in a very mind-your-business-lady tone, “I didn’t curse!” because that made my behavior not seem as bad. To which, she replied, “Oh! I misheard you. I was admiring your necklace and I thought I heard you saying something, but I love your necklace.” The necklace to which she was referring was one with a cross pendant on it. It matters not what I actually said that day, so stop trying to figure it out. What mattered was that my attitude did not match the profession of faith around my neck. The physical evidence that day of my grumbling had outweighed the circumstantial evidence of my choice in jewelry. God, and everybody else, is watching us all the time. So, it is not even enough to have a public persona that looks guilty of a Christ-led life; we must also have behind the scenes evidence of our faith. Communication is the key to any relationship. Do you talk to God? Do you listen to what He has to say? Do you know what He has already said in His Word? If we say we are Christians, then we must show that we are Christians every day, all the time. It is not easy to commit fully to Christ when it means we have to change some of our habits and routines, but I am positive that suffering a crucifixion was not easy for Christ; yet He did it before we had even accepted Him. We, who proclaim Christ as Lord, should have enough evidence for an open-and-shut case on the charge of Christianity. Ms. EV There is an old song that teaches to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. At a certain point in my life, I had become so adept that that skill that I only saw my positive characteristics as reality. In a parable, Jesus talked about a Pharisee that did the same thing. He said, “I follow rules…I pay tithes…I am a good person…I…I…I….” We may think the Pharisee was being ridiculous, but we do the same thing. We pick out everything that we are doing right, no matter what we are doing wrong, and believe that God should be satisfied with our good works and ignore our lapses of faith. We measure ourselves against others, of whom we are quick to see the faults and flaws. We figure, as long as we are not like these “bad people” and our good deeds outweigh the bad, then we are fine. God should be pleased with us and not hold our “little” day-to-day sins against (and that’s if we even recognize that we are sinning).
We need to be more like the publican in the story. This dude was a sinner and he knew it. He was not proud of it. He was humbled by the situation and he feared God. My dad always says, “Every time you purposely disobey God, you are saying to Him, ‘I don’t believe You are real.’” If we truly reverence God, we will acknowledge, rather than ignore sins. The publican knew that it was only by God’s grace and mercy that he was able to live. The Pharisee’s “prayer,” or rather listing of qualifications for a blessing, fell on deaf ears, but the publican’s prayer was heard. God sees and knows all. He does not need to be reminded of how good we think we are. He appreciates it when we live in reality, admit our shortcomings, and know that we are not perfect and that we need His love, His grace and His mercy. If you feel the need to accentuate the positive, tell someone in your life all of the things that you love about him or her, but don’t puff yourself up before God. Ms. EV On Sunday, I heard Israel Houghton’s, “Say So,” and for the past two days, I keep randomly hearing the line, “To be salt and light in the world, in the world, to be salt and light in the world,” in my head. Today, I just had to chuckle because I thought to myself, I am sure when Jesus said for us to be salt and light, He did not mean for us to be a salty light. I already admitted that I have a difficult time finding the medium between nice and mean. And, I can get an attitude, or be a mite salty, when I my buttons are being pushed by people in my life. So, what would God have me to do about this dilemma?
God speaks to us in many ways and I know it is Him because that which I believe He is speaking to me is corroborative and lines up with His Word. I read a devotional this morning about not losing your light because you need it to guide others. Then, I read another devotional about being transformed to the image of Christ and not repaying evil for evil, and loving people in spite of how I am treated. Finally, I stumbled upon an article about how to handle anger. Is anyone else sensing a theme? In my quest to be more like Him, God doesn’t just point out the obvious things that I do that are displeasing to Him, He also shows me the little dark places that I don’t often think about like my attitude towards others. The Bible says, “Be angry and sin not” (Ephesians 4:26). When I allow how people treat me or holding grudges to transform me from salt and light to a salty light, I am not honoring God. There is nothing wrong with discipline and correction, but it has to be done with love. We are of no use to God when we stop caring about being like Him or when we get so bogged down in anger or depression, that our salt loses its flavor and our lights dim. We are human beings, we are going to be frustrated, but our reaction can be the difference between guiding someone to the fulfilling, tasteful Living Bread or pushing them into the tasteless darkness of a sinful world. Join with me in my mission to be salt and light, not a salty light. Ms. EV |
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