This past Saturday, our church women's ministry partnered with another group to host a "Pad Party" at our church. May 28th is International Menstrual Hygiene Day; a day set aside to bring awareness to menstrual health and the wellness of women all across this land. We decided to host the party to bring attention to the women and girls in many African countries who lose a week of work and/or school during their time of menstruation. Locally, we decided to help a battered women's shelter in the City, by supplying their facility with feminine hygiene products.
Never before have I seen women buzzing around a room celebrating blood, and I'm not talking about the blood of Jesus. Women were laughing, playing games, setting up the tables covered with feminine products, eating refreshments, talking, listening and sharing all around a cause that has been used against us to bring shame. What is shameful about having the ability to produce life? What is shameful about the body knowing that when there is no egg fertilization each month, this is a set time to cleanse itself? That's biology. That's science. That's a miracle! AND it is beautiful, not to be looked at with disdain or disregard; but rather to be celebrated and honored.
Though I don't have daughters, (I've been blessed with 2 charming sons), I want little girls to know that you don't have to run and hide. Menstruation can be a time to really listen to your body and get in tune with Creation. Get in tune by eating right, drinking water, doing light exercises and learning to rest when needed. Maybe menstruation is God's way of saying "listen to my voice as I speak through your body". Learn what truly makes you tick and don't be ashamed! (For my Sisters who suffer with migraines and severe cramping, often due to fibroids, I am sensitive to your plight and I still believe that this is a time of stillness.)
But why am I really writing this message?
I am typing this at the church right now, after preparing the boxes (on top of boxes) to be picked up tomorrow morning by the shelter staff. I just took down the #menstruationmatters signs that donned our red walls and I realized the room was still. No more chatter, no more eating, no more sniggling and laughing and no more picture taking. Just silence! Just me, God and boxes of pads. I began to reflect on the boldness of our women, who for weeks brought their sanitary items to church and placed them in the "treasure chest" in the church vestibule. I was grateful for my special Sisters in Atlanta, who heard the call and sprang into action, by having their own pad party of sorts to add to our party. I thought about the mother, at my boys school, who saw my video and immediately ordered products online to be shipped to the church. I was in awe of the person from New York, whom I've never met, who sent 2 shipments of products to the church in my name. I reflected and I saw God's hands! I saw God's hands at work through all the people who participated in the project.
I could hear God whispering, " Do you hear me now?"
You thought I gave you the ability to speak so you could travel the world and talk about your book and what you've done for yourself. NOT!
You thought I allowed you to go to Spelman College and then to Podiatric Medical School just so you could make money and live well. NOT!
You thought I allowed you to preach and teach my Word, so people could be mesmerized by your knowledge and insight and impressed with your abilities. NOT!
You thought your gifts and talents were just for you. ABSOLUTELY NOT!
He said, I've given you the stage to be the mouthpiece for someone who has not yet found their own voice.
I've given you the platform upon which you will stand and show someone else the way.
I AM TOTALLY HUMBLED!!!
I love what God told Moses in Deuteronomy 11:22-25, (from the Message Bible)
That’s right. If you diligently keep all this commandment that I command you to obey—love God, your God, do what he tells you, stick close to him—God
on his part will drive out all these nations that stand in your way.
Yes, he’ll drive out nations much bigger and stronger than you. Every
square inch on which you place your foot will be yours. Your borders
will stretch from the wilderness to the mountains of Lebanon, from the
Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand
in your way. Everywhere you go, God-sent fear and trembling will precede you, just as he promised.
WHAT?!
You mean if I keep listening to the whispers of God, keep His commandments and move by faith into action, then nothing and no one can stand in my way. My God today!
The whispers of God might be a crying child.
The whispers of God might be a woman running from a domestic violence situation.
The whispers of God might be women in foreign countries who need your attention.
The whispers of God might be a loved one trying to get on their feet.
The whispers of God might be children whom the world has given up on.
The whispers of God might be a tough time in your marriage, after you've been hurt.
The whispers of God might be the beggar on the side of the road (especially if they are standing in front of a fast food place).
The whispers of God might be an annoying neighbor or coworker.
What has God been whispering in your ear that you KNOW He is waiting for you to act upon?
Will you spring into action or will you sit back in the recliner of life and relax?
Will you be the mouthpiece or will you recoil in silence?
Will you take them in or will you put them out?
Will you keep driving past them or will you bring them a happy meal while they're on the corner?
Will you fight for someone or will you just give up and wash your hands with the situation?
Learn to recognize the whispers of God. No really, stop and listen! That very thing that you are struggling with, just might be his whisper.
If you sit still long enough, you will hear him speaking. The decision on how you'll respond is totally up to you!
Now walk it out...........
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Monday, May 9, 2016
Sometimes "stink bait" is necessary to get the victory
This past Friday was an extremely interesting day!
Friday is usually the day that my husband likes to golf. Since we noticed that the last two times he walked the golf course he became dehydrated and ill, he decided to leave it alone this week. He walked into the kitchen on Thursday announcing that he had a GREAT idea and we would be going fishing the next day. I laughed all the way to Walmart as we purchased the fishing license and permit, along with the folding lawn chairs, live worms, tackle box and stink bait.
On Friday morning as the boys were getting dressed for school, he was preparing our lunch and snacks for this day. I tell you that this was so funny to me. Are we really about to go fishing? Mind you, neither of us knows how to fish!!!!
So after we dropped the boys off at school, we proceeded to the fishing hole not too far from the house. We drove around trying to find the right location, so we wouldn't disturb anyone else but that was an equally appealing area. After 10 minutes or so, we settled on a spot and began to unload the car. Both he and I were extremely giddy and excited to be able to sit quietly for a couple of hours without any interruptions.
I loaded the fishing rod carefully with the live worm as he situated the weights and the red & white bobber on the line. We were all set, so we cast the line and waited. He felt the tugging of the line and the adrenaline started pumping. Soon thereafter the bobber resurfaced, but when he reeled the line in there was no fish and the worm was gone. We simply laughed and threw the line out again. This was repeated 3 times without any success, so we decided to switch it up.
It was time to pull out the stink bait, which consisted of shrimp and chicken blood. Boy did it really STINK! We lost a couple of pieces, due to the bait falling off as we cast out the line. We simply reapplied the stink bait, cast the line and waited. Within 5 minutes, we had caught our first catfish. We were so surprised and exhilarated and repeated the same process. Two more catfish on the line!
We placed all the catfish in the ice chest and set out to do it again.
Up to this point Byron had been catching the fish, but this time I decided I wanted to hold the line. I loaded the stink bait, cast the line in the water, sat down in my lawn chair and waited. He and I sat there talking and watching the water move gently, until I felt tugging at the line and no longer saw the red and white bobber. My heart started racing and I stood up ready to reel in the line. I couldn't just yank the line though, I had to finesse it to make sure the fish actually had the bait and wasn't just playing around with me. Once I was confident that the fish was on the line, I began to reel it in. But as I reeled, the catfish fought back; I tugged and it tugged. I tugged some more and it pulled back. Eventually I won the exchange and had another catfish to add to the cooling chest.
Four catfish is definitely not bad for two individuals who DO NOT fish! ( I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!) We paused long enough for me to get more ice and use the facilities. Upon my return, we repeated the process but nothing ever bit the line again. So for another hour we baited, we cast, we waited and nothing else happened. During that time we talked about what was different now and why the fish weren't biting. Then we reflected back to the moment that we caught the first fish and what we had done during that time.
God begin to show me something. Initially we used the worms because we were confident that the live bait would draw the fish. We repeated the process only to find out the method that we were using was not the best method. Although we were hesitant in using the stink bait, it would take the horrific aroma to draw the fish (blessings) toward us. It got me thinking about how God works in our lives sometimes through stinky situations.
So many times we follow the same patterns and are stuck in our way of doing things because we think it's the best method. Oftentimes the blessings do not come until we rest in the fact that God uses stinky situations to bless us. Maybe your stinky situation is the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or the end of a relationship. If we were to be honest with ourselves, we would realize that the blessing can't come until after the mess. It's in the messiness and the stinkiness that you realize you are no longer in control. It takes the horrific aroma to heighten your sense of awareness that God is right there in the midst of the situation.
So allow me to encourage you to keep fighting, keep praying, keep throwing the line but realize that you might have to change the bait. God can use the stink bait to attract your blessing. God can use the death of a loved one for you to realize the gifting that already lies within you. God can use the end of a relationship to catapult you into your destiny as you learn to hear and love the power of your own voice. God can even use the loss of a job for you to recognize that He is truly the source of your supply. What you're going through right now might not be pleasant, but rest assured that God can use your stink bait to attract the blessing and give you the victory in the end.
So don't run from the stinky situations, just ask God to show you what He wants you to learn as you sit and wait patiently on Him. Just as the catfish were in the water before we even arrived, so too is your blessing right there for you. Perhaps God is just waiting on you to switch it up and appreciate the stink bait.
Now walk it out....
If this blessed you, feel free to leave a message below.
Friday is usually the day that my husband likes to golf. Since we noticed that the last two times he walked the golf course he became dehydrated and ill, he decided to leave it alone this week. He walked into the kitchen on Thursday announcing that he had a GREAT idea and we would be going fishing the next day. I laughed all the way to Walmart as we purchased the fishing license and permit, along with the folding lawn chairs, live worms, tackle box and stink bait.
On Friday morning as the boys were getting dressed for school, he was preparing our lunch and snacks for this day. I tell you that this was so funny to me. Are we really about to go fishing? Mind you, neither of us knows how to fish!!!!
So after we dropped the boys off at school, we proceeded to the fishing hole not too far from the house. We drove around trying to find the right location, so we wouldn't disturb anyone else but that was an equally appealing area. After 10 minutes or so, we settled on a spot and began to unload the car. Both he and I were extremely giddy and excited to be able to sit quietly for a couple of hours without any interruptions.
I loaded the fishing rod carefully with the live worm as he situated the weights and the red & white bobber on the line. We were all set, so we cast the line and waited. He felt the tugging of the line and the adrenaline started pumping. Soon thereafter the bobber resurfaced, but when he reeled the line in there was no fish and the worm was gone. We simply laughed and threw the line out again. This was repeated 3 times without any success, so we decided to switch it up.
It was time to pull out the stink bait, which consisted of shrimp and chicken blood. Boy did it really STINK! We lost a couple of pieces, due to the bait falling off as we cast out the line. We simply reapplied the stink bait, cast the line and waited. Within 5 minutes, we had caught our first catfish. We were so surprised and exhilarated and repeated the same process. Two more catfish on the line!
We placed all the catfish in the ice chest and set out to do it again.
Up to this point Byron had been catching the fish, but this time I decided I wanted to hold the line. I loaded the stink bait, cast the line in the water, sat down in my lawn chair and waited. He and I sat there talking and watching the water move gently, until I felt tugging at the line and no longer saw the red and white bobber. My heart started racing and I stood up ready to reel in the line. I couldn't just yank the line though, I had to finesse it to make sure the fish actually had the bait and wasn't just playing around with me. Once I was confident that the fish was on the line, I began to reel it in. But as I reeled, the catfish fought back; I tugged and it tugged. I tugged some more and it pulled back. Eventually I won the exchange and had another catfish to add to the cooling chest.
Four catfish is definitely not bad for two individuals who DO NOT fish! ( I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!) We paused long enough for me to get more ice and use the facilities. Upon my return, we repeated the process but nothing ever bit the line again. So for another hour we baited, we cast, we waited and nothing else happened. During that time we talked about what was different now and why the fish weren't biting. Then we reflected back to the moment that we caught the first fish and what we had done during that time.
God begin to show me something. Initially we used the worms because we were confident that the live bait would draw the fish. We repeated the process only to find out the method that we were using was not the best method. Although we were hesitant in using the stink bait, it would take the horrific aroma to draw the fish (blessings) toward us. It got me thinking about how God works in our lives sometimes through stinky situations.
So many times we follow the same patterns and are stuck in our way of doing things because we think it's the best method. Oftentimes the blessings do not come until we rest in the fact that God uses stinky situations to bless us. Maybe your stinky situation is the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or the end of a relationship. If we were to be honest with ourselves, we would realize that the blessing can't come until after the mess. It's in the messiness and the stinkiness that you realize you are no longer in control. It takes the horrific aroma to heighten your sense of awareness that God is right there in the midst of the situation.
So allow me to encourage you to keep fighting, keep praying, keep throwing the line but realize that you might have to change the bait. God can use the stink bait to attract your blessing. God can use the death of a loved one for you to realize the gifting that already lies within you. God can use the end of a relationship to catapult you into your destiny as you learn to hear and love the power of your own voice. God can even use the loss of a job for you to recognize that He is truly the source of your supply. What you're going through right now might not be pleasant, but rest assured that God can use your stink bait to attract the blessing and give you the victory in the end.
So don't run from the stinky situations, just ask God to show you what He wants you to learn as you sit and wait patiently on Him. Just as the catfish were in the water before we even arrived, so too is your blessing right there for you. Perhaps God is just waiting on you to switch it up and appreciate the stink bait.
Now walk it out....
If this blessed you, feel free to leave a message below.
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