I am a professional sleeper. I have been taking naps pretty consistently since high school and anyone who knows me knows that a nap is a part of my daily routine. As a matter of fact, earlier today, a colleague told me that my former students asked him to post notes online and he was unsure of how to do it. They replied, “Ms. [EV] knows how to do it!” To which, he responded, “That’s because she takes naps!” I am not really sure what my napping habit has to do with my computer talents, but it shows that even my colleagues know that I am no stranger to dozing off each afternoon.
I enjoy naps because I find them to be refreshing. On a workday, I get up very early, so by the middle of the day, I am very tired. My family and closest friends know that, generally, I cannot be reached between 4PM and 6PM. I put my phone on silent, put my sleep mask on to block out the light, get cozy on the couch or in my bed, and I zone out. Sometimes I fall completely asleep and other times I just lay there and recharge. But, once I wake up, I can think more clearly again, I am in a good mood, and I can accomplish whatever other tasks lie ahead. On days when I do not get a nap, I am either cranky or deliriously silly, so let’s just say I am not at my best. As much as I appreciate naps, I have an even greater appreciation for the fact that I serve a God who never dozes off. Psalm 121 says that God never sleeps or slumbers. He doesn’t even “get in a couple of winks” here and there. He is constantly and consistently holding the world in the palm of His hands. I am so grateful that He does not feel the need to shut me out everyday for a couple of hours, so that He can recharge. Instead, He is there for me every, single time I need Him. Just pause for a moment and think of how awesome that is! I love my family and my friends, but there are some times, no matter how much they love me, that they just cannot be there for me. I am sure that others have experienced this. Maybe, late at night, you feel a sudden attack of sadness. Or, perhaps, early in the morning, you start having a bout with anxiety. Sometimes we cannot call others because it is too late or too early. Sometimes, we cannot call others because they just will not understand the issue. In those times, and at all times, it is a blessing to know that we can call on the name of Jesus. These moments are the moments when I realize that God should be my first resort and not my last resort. I realize that I need to depend on Him and trust in Him because, though He can use others as a resource in my life, He is the Source of my life. So, I am glad that He does not sleep, nor does He slumber. I am ecstatic that He is not just an on-time God, but an all-the-time God. Because He never dozes off, I can rest in peace on this side of Heaven. Resting in the midst of tests, trials and storms is a form of worship. It shows God that you truly believe He can handle every situation that is presented in this life. So, go ahead and take a nap, or, if you are not a nap person, at least get a full night of sleep; God is awake, alert, and able to take care of you. Ms. EV
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I woke up very early this morning in somewhat of a panic. I started thinking about what I do not have in my life. I started thinking that I am not achieving enough; that I am a failure. I started wondering how I had taken a step back instead of a step forward. I started praying hard, and I eventually fell back to sleep. When I woke up and started preparing to face the day, the thoughts came right back. I felt myself start to get lost in anxiety, and then, I said, “No. Not today. Not ever!” God has been too good to me for me to let these thoughts break me down. You see, yesterday, I went back into the studio for the first time in five months and recorded my first gospel song. The song is called, “My Victory Is In My Praise.” It was the first song I have recorded that it took one take for the lead vocal. I wrote the lyrics at the beginning of the year and I had it next on my list to record, so I took a leap of faith and recorded it. The song is about using praise as a weapon to overcome your inner struggles; you know those late at night, don’t nobody know, but you and God (I know that was bad grammar) struggles that creep into the daytime sometimes. It is about praising your way through ailments, whether they are physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. It is about praising until your deliverance comes from whatever it is that has you bound; be it singleness, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, illicit relationships, or just not living up to your potential. So, as I thought about yesterday’s recording session, and how close I felt to God, the words from my uncle Rodney’s sermon on Sunday rang in my ears, “That’s why the devil hates you!” I am not a failure. I have everything I need in my life. In fact, I am an overcomer (the red squiggly line says this is not a word, but we churchy people know that it is). So, I decided to start praising. I thanked God for helping me make some tough decisions about my life that I knew would change my ability to afford some of the luxuries that I am used to, but would free up my time to use the talents that God has bestowed upon me. I thanked Him for giving me something to write and say for almost every day of the last year. I thanked Him for keeping my head way above water even when, on paper, it looked like I should drown. I thanked God for helping work through loneliness and its associated issues. I thanked God for getting me through mourning, and giving me the opportunity to comfort others. Victory! Healing! Deliverance! It’s all in the praise and my God is able! Because you are a loyal reader of this blog, I am going to give you a preview of the new song. The preview and all of the lyrics are below. Enjoy! Ms. EV Last week, I went to get a massage. When I was asked by the therapist what areas on which to concentrate, one of the things I mentioned was that I needed a really good foot massage. My feet were sore, and in my experience, if my feet do not feel good, it is hard for the rest of my body to feel relaxed. When it came time for my foot massage, I notice that the therapist put hot towels on my feet. It was very soothing and it was a nice gesture. The hot towels were then used to rub my feet clean before the actual foot massage. As I laid there, I thought, “They do the same thing when you get a pedicure; your feet are washed before anyone deals with them.” If my job involved people’s feet, I would want to be sure they were clean before I put my hands on them too. I mean I have seen some pretty dirty feet. It is just more hygienic to clean them first and I do not think that anyone would disagree with that. As I thought about this, it led me to a revelation about how the washing of Jesus’ feet was an extreme act of worship.
In Luke 7:38-50, Luke recounts the washing of Jesus’ feet. A woman, described in the Kind James version of the Bible as a sinner and in The Message Bible as a harlot, came to a Pharisee’s house where she knew Jesus was eating. Being in the very presence of the Almighty, she could not say a word, all she could do is weep. But, rather than just weep at Jesus’ feet, she used her tears to wash Jesus’ feet. It was an act of servitude that was modeled by Jesus when He washed the disciples’ feet. When she finished washing His feet, she dried Jesus’ feet with her hair. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but I am very particular about my hair. I do not like for people to touch my hair without my permission ( I have big hair and I think sometimes people want to see if it is real, so they are tempted to just reach out and touch). So, it is hard for me to even fathom the level of humility it took for this woman to put her hair on Jesus’ feet. However, this is not about worshipping the act of this woman. This is about recognizing that being in the presence of God’s Son caused this woman to abandon any inhibitions about being embarrassed or messing up her look to simply fall a Jesus’ feet and worship. And, she did not stop there. After she dried Jesus’ feet with her hair, she anointed them with very expensive ointment. She could have possibly sold this ointment to make a better life for herself, but something about the mere presence of the Messiah, let her know that by worshipping Him, she would have a better life than she could ever imagine. She had a lot of sin in her life, so she poured out everything she had, and Jesus forgave her sins much to the dismay of the Pharisees. You see, when someone feels they have never messed up (and chances are that they have, but they just do not wish to admit it), or if everything is going well in life, those are the times when many people forget to worship God. However, when you know that without God, your life would be filthy, you cannot help but worship Him. Notice that this woman did not just sit at Jesus’ feet and weep and stop there. She did not have a pity party; she had a praise party. She turned her tears into tools of worship! That is what we need to do, but not just when we feel bad about who we are; we also need to sit at the feet of Jesus and worship when everything is going well. While we cannot literally wash Jesus’ feet and anoint them with oil, we can pour out everything we have in worship. And trust me, you will see what I have learned, there is so much power in uninhibited worship! There is a rumor that when I was little I got kicked out of a dance class because I was a little bit of a brat. I can neither confirm nor deny this story. Nonetheless, I always wondered what kind of dancer I would have been had I been instructed in dance. The elementary and middle school years were not pretty when it came to rhythm. As a pretty lanky girl, it was difficult to get the arms and legs moving on the same rhythm.
Then, there was high school and musical theater. I discovered that I could learn choreography, but it took me a lot longer than other people; however, once I knew the dance I could rock it out. In college, I had to learn to step with my sorority, which completely exposed my lack of rhythm, but at the club (yes, I went to the club), I was a dancing machine. Of course, the kind of dancing we did back then did not really require any high level of skill. Although I am pretty sure that it contributed to my current knee and back issues. Even though I may not be the most skilled dancer, I love music and I love to dance. I have started choreographing dance numbers for theater, my cheerleaders, pageants and church. I might not look cute doing the moves, but I know what looks good when other people with skill perform it. There is one place though where it doesn’t matter that I am not a prima ballerina or a whiz at contemporary jazz. That is when I dance before God. Every year at Vacation Bible School, the music includes dance moves. It gives me the most jubilant feeling to teach the choreography to the children. To watch them laugh, be free, let go and just dance before God. There are the exuberant fast songs and the expressive slow songs. And, when I teach them the dances and we perform them, I understand why David chose to dance before God. Once you forget about how you look and just start giving sincere praise to God, dancing is so liberating! Then, as you fully surrender, the greatest Dance Partner, the Audience of One, can join in with you. He can move in and through You, leading you into the most intimate worship. I am learning a song called, “Dance With Me,” by Jesus Culture, and it reminds me of how beautiful it is to just dance before God. You do not have to have any training or talent. All you have to do is just praise Him in your own way. This kind of praise that yields to the movement of the Spirit can break down walls and strongholds in our lives. Give it a try. Put on your favorite praise music, whether fast or slow, old or new, gospel or contemporary, and just ask God to be your dance partner. Whether you are joyful or feeling downtrodden, open yourself up to praise Him and don’t hold anything back. These types of intimate moments can happen in your house by yourself or in a church full of people, but I am challenging you to allow them to happen, you will not regret the closeness that you feel to the Master. Say, “Won’t You dance with me, oh, Lover of my soul to the song of all songs?” God will never deny you the opportunity to grow closer to Him. He will embrace you and lead you in the dance. Ms. EV |
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