The Street Committee

When the street committee tries you, you will be judged, found guilty, and sentenced all in the same breath without a shred of evidence.

He said and she said is more than enough evidence for the street committee. Why? They've been waiting a looong time for the opportunity to color you black so they salivate over rumors about you and make sure they spread like wildfire.

The street committee does not care anything about Psalm 105:15. They're goin' to do what they do and relish every minute of it.

Church, if we hear something that matters to us, we should pray about it and the truth will be revealed. I know for I've had to do it and that revealed truth is unshakable regardless of what is said on the matter.

Church folk are not members of the street committee, right?

God help us! 

Stop Returning to the Vomit

It hurts. Oh, how it hurts! I know it does.

You feel like your world is spinning out of control. 

You feel like you're standing all alone in a dark and raging storm. 

Listen, when your vision and thinking realigns with God's will for you, the following will become crystal clear:   The Lord loved you so much that He rescued you from something (situation, mistake, people) you didn't have the strength to walk away from yourself.

His love protected and shielded you so stop revisiting the place from which you were rescued. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭26:11‬ ‭KJV

As a dog returneth to his vomit, So a fool returneth to his folly.

Stop returning to the vomit.

Own It

Want to become a better you? 

Own your stuff and stop trying to cover it up with churchy phrases like, "The Lord told me..." 

God is love. Period. He didn't tell you to mistreat, dog, hurt, and mess up folk. There's no love in that.

That's all you. Own it.

When you honestly own your stuff, then you can deal with it: repent and become a better you.

Here's a little nugget.

Psalms 105:15 (KJV)

Saying, Touch not mine anointed, And do my prophets no harm.

That scripture is quoted a lot, usually by titled clergy when their stuff is being called out. 

Listen, God's anointing is not limited to the pulpit and titled clergy. Anointed folk are also sitting in the pews. Think about it. David didn't have a title or prestige when he was first anointed. He was herding sheep. 

When your choices and behavior do not reflect Christ, please stop trying to use Him as a cover. Nobody who knows Him is buyin' it anyway.

Just keepin' it real...

God help us! 🙏🏽

❤

Do No Harm

When a spiritual leader falls and chooses to live in that fallen place with denials, excuses, and redirected accusations, the consequences can be devastating.

Not only are those who were directly involved in the fall impacted, but those who sat under that leadership are left heartbroken and shaken. I know...I've been there. 🙋🏾‍♀️ The experience became a HUGE burden that weighed heavily on my heart. 😭

Before someone gets all deep and talk about not worshipping man, this is not that...go deeper.

Being in church leadership means different things to different folk. For some, it's about the title, prestige, cash flow, power, admiration, and ego. For others, it's truly about the Gospel and the work of Christ. 

Regardless of the motivation, spiritual leadership comes with a mandate that you do no harm to God's people. Many are failing this mandate, resulting in a lot of church folk who are walking wounded.

Some spiritual leaders may not have fallen themselves, but if they know what's going on and turn a blind eye because of cowardice, family connections, or friendship, they are guilty of allowing God's people to be harmed by not holding the fallen accountable.

Does any of this have God's approval, favor, and blessing? No...I  think not.

Just keepin' it real...

God help us! 🙏🏽

❤

Bright Shiny Object

So...the Republicans are flashing the bright shiny object of a Biden impeachment inquiry to distract the Nation from Trump's MANY criminal indictments.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see they're just flashin' glitter and messin' with folk minds.

There's some serious business up in Washington they really need to be bending their minds to such as the October looming government shut down instead of this flashin' shiny object nonsense.

The group of folk in the majority leadership personifies the word incompetence. I hope we as a Nation never paint this picture again. I'm not talking about party. I'm talking about the capability and character of the folk elected to protect and handle the business of this Nation REGARDLESS of party affiliation. 

First and foremost, the business of this Nation must be prioritized and taken care of.

Just keepin' it real...

Cult or Willful Ignorance

Excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.

Cult

His followers declare him God's chosen one while sin, darkness, and degradation obviously drips from him.

Cult

Evidence of the leaders wrong doing is being revealed over and over again...yet blinded followers don't believe it.

Cult

When the leader is finally held accountable for his many wrong doings, his blind followers wring their hands and cry their leader is being persecuted.

Cult

If it's not a cult, it's willful ignorance: A decision to intentionally ignore and avoid all facts and truths that are in opposition to what they choose to believe. 

I learned early on that you can't have a rational or meaningful discussion with someone who's in a cult or someone who's willfully ignorant. 

I'll just put this out there: Willful ignorance is not something to wear proudly.

Just keepin' it real...

It Yet Lives

Christians don't rejoice at the misfortunes of others.

So why are so many Christians rejoicing now that Trump has been indicted on charges related to January 6th?

That day was about more than a man. Despite folk trying to downgrade that day to a peaceful gathering in retrospect, it was a day of horror that will never be wiped out of our history. 

What it simply boils down to is a coup was attempted here in the United States of America because Trump did not want to step down from being President.

Trump's indictment signals that the heart of our democratic republic is still beating! In spite of it all, our democracy yet lives and her legal system is capable of functioning as intended. How should it function? As if NO ONE is above the law, applying justice equally to all.

I'm grateful to Bill Barr, Mike Pence, Mark Meadows and all of the other Republicans who gave testimony and evidence to make Trump's indictment possible. I just wish they had been honest with the American people from the very beginning...

Just keepin' it real...

Bad Optics

You know...a posted scripture will not do when this is required.

A posted prophecy? Save the key strokes.

And those posted Word of the day messages? They just get side-eyed looks.

Your dance in church? Do I even have to say it? Okay, okay, I'll say it.  "Child, sit yourself down somewhere!" Of course, accompanied by a full eye roll. 😁

When you have hurt and damaged folk, going mega spiritual will not heal their wounds.

All of your religious "stuff" is viewed through the lense of the pain you have caused them and not addressed. Bad optics for that lense puts the label hypocrite on everything you do. 

Listen, when an apology is owed, give it. Period. 

I'm sorry. I was wrong. I got it wrong. Those short phrases will start the healing process of the wounds you have caused.

I have seen a lot of Christians brutalize other Christians on social media over the recent years for various reasons but mainly for political reasons. The heart of some have been ripped to shreds. 

In the aftermath, I have yet to see the same level of apologies flowing across social media. BUT there's no shortage of scripture, "Words", and/or prophecy...

Apologies are overdue and all of your religious "stuff" does not change that.

Just keepin' it real...

Our Greatest Enemy

If you created the mess, you are NOT a victim. You're just facing the consequences of the mess you made.

Sometimes, your greatest enemy is your own self...

The Stench

The stench of our political landscape is awful! 🦨

When "Did their lips move?" is the answer to the question, "Did a politician lie?", things are bad...very bad.

And then their followers blindly repeat the lies with loud conviction. 

Some of the political posts floating on the internet are "Oh, sweetie..." and cringe worthy.

Have you seen those videos where they interview street folk talking about political matters and why they support what/who they support? It's just...😳

Sometimes, folk earnestly try to present facts and truths to counter an...uninformed statement only to receive abuse for their efforts.  My thoughts on this? You can't have a productive and intelligent discussion with willful ignorance.

Critical thinking, reading, truth...it seems many consider these an inconvenient waste of time.

Just keepin' it real...

Catch Them First

Sometimes, it seems that some Christians have forgotten this simple truth:  You can't clean fish before you catch them.

They spend a lot of time and effort trying to whip sinful actions/choices away they can see, instead of focusing on the root cause of those actions/choices: The condition of the heart.

Their whip is woven strands of their personal understanding of scripture, their personal likes and dislikes, their personal religious beliefs, and their personal interpretation of the mind of God.

They may eventually win compliance through their efforts, but if the condition of the heart has not changed...that soul will still be lost. 

So...what's more important?  Winning compliance or winning the soul for Christ?

When the heart changes, choices also change. You can't clean fish before you catch them.

A Truth Moment

You support and idolize a bigot, a racist, a rapist, a liar, a cheat, and a cruel person, declaring them to be sent by God.

You jeer, ridicule, and belittle, individuals of higher morals and better character for the simple reason that they are not one of you--your religious group, race, and/or political party.

At the same time, you marginalize, demonize, and scripture whip folk who make personal choices regarding their dress and bodies (which will turn into dust one day, anyway) rather than focusing on the important eternal matter of the state of their heart/soul.

When your hypocrisy is called out, you cry religious persecution. In reality, the religious are really the ones wearing the persecutor's hat.

How can you tell someone about the love of God when you don't demonstrate it yourself and support things/individuals that do not represent love?

How can you tell someone that God has no respect of person, when you do?

How can you tell someone, sin stinks in the nostrils of God, when you revere and label a bigot, a liar, a cheat, a racist, a rapist, and a cruel person as being sent by Him?

It's sad...it's troubling...it's a travesty. What? The hypocrisy and inconsistency.

God help us!

Simon Says

Some politicians don't have any solutions, so they take measures to stoke anger, counting on their followers to fall in line with their nonsense like they're playing a game of Simon Says.

The true intent of these folk has been leaked in the media in recent days. I don't know about you, but I'd be deeply offended if I heard this stuff and realized I'd been unknowingly playing a game of Simon Says.

Those of us who can see through the smoke want them to bring REAL solutions to the table or get out of the way so grown folk can take care of grown folk business.

Voting matters, but WHO you vote for matters even more. 

Electing someone with a child's mentality or someone not capable of deductive reasoning to handle the grave issues of our States and Nation, will only end up in non-ending, damaging, and divisive rounds of Simon Says.

Power in the Wrong Hands

Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.

- Robert A. Heinlein

This is happening right now. 

Great care should be taken when voting someone into power. As we are witnessing right now, terrible and grave things happen when the wrong folk are put into powerful places...

Some of these people have always wanted to "reset" things to how they used to be, and once they were handed the power to do so, they quickly set their plans into action:  a speeding train into regression. 

All we can do is brace ourselves, pray, and vote for change. Hopefully, when change comes it will correct the damage that's been done to our cultures and our Nation, closing the chasms of division.

Pray!

Family

They can be messy, vicious, and liars.

They can be needy, weird, and a little bit crazy.

Uppity, gossips, and two-faced. Yeah, they can be that too.

They can be so holy, they are of no earthly good to you or anybody else they think are "beneath" them.

They can be kind, loving, and always there.

They can be supporters, advisors, and listeners.

Best of all, they can friends.

Who have I been describing? Family.

Families are made up of a lot of different kinds of people. Some like each other...some don't. They are definitely not all friends.

It's a true blessing when you have family members who are also genuine friends. 

Seasoning

Seasoning racist and bigoted actions with Jesus' name and scripture doesn't disguise or change the flavor of the actions. 

It does make becoming a Christian less appealing to those not like you.

A New Flavor

Have you noticed it, yet?

I don't know...maybe it's just me.

There's something different about the "flavor" of the current House of Representatives Democratic leadership.

Something is happening there...

The speeches have never seemed as passionate, mission oriented, and urgent as they seem to me now. It's like they're going all in to fight for something crucial to this Nation.

Rep. Jamie Raskin:  I honestly love the bite-sized history lessons he drop in his speeches. It's like he's saying, "Let me tell you how we got here or why we do what we do." He doesn't just say stuff, he backs it up with hard, easily accessible facts.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: The man wades through the fluff, exposing hypocrisy and calling out foolishness.  He then focuses on  what's really important in a way everyone can understand.

Rep. Maxwell Frost: The first Gen-Z member of Congress. He speaks with well thought out and clear common sense, drawing logical lines between points with facts. The first time I heard him speak, my thoughts were if this is our political future, I like it.

And there are more. In the hearings, they are on point, cutting decisively through nonsense and lies. It's like they're saying, "Are we done here? Let's get to work for the people of this Nation."

Maybe it's just me. I didn't pay much attention to politics until the Trump Administration and I saw how it negatively impacted the Church.

Now, I am very much woke to the fact that bad things can happen in powerful places that have far reaching and negative impacts when you don't pay attention.

Your Hat Won't Fit Me

My calling is not yours and yours isn't mine. In other words, we don't wear the same hats in ministry, but we are all working toward the same goal: building up the body of Christ--the Church.

We are not all cheerleaders. If you hand some of us pom-poms, they will be waiving in our hands, not as we pump folk up, but as we speak truth to the weights and secrets that are holding them rooted. 

Ministries operate differently. Please don't despise ministries that don't look and feel like yours. They are just as effective in walking in their purpose as you.

Some encourage and exhort. And do it very effectively because that's the hat they wear.

Some of us speak the truth in and out of season. We cry loud and spare not. We have to because it's the "hat" we wear. 

For instance, Evangelists will visit a church and rip the covers off of "hidden" actions and sinful thoughts with the truth--for sin separates us from God, then move on leaving the Pastor to put bandaids on the members after they're gone. Yet, if "hidden" sin has been stripped and souls set free, the Evangelists have effectively walked in their ministry.

So...don't try to put your ministry hat on someone else because it won't fit.

Listen, these scriptures say a lot more than highlighting the offices/titles in the church body. 

Ephesians 4:11-16 KJV

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Overcoming

For racists, there are only two races: white and non-white.

Reading some comments, I'd say there are folk who don't realize they're sitting in the non-white bucket right along with me, sharing the same plight. 

I have to wonder who some of these folk actually see when they look in the mirror. 

Maybe they've never encountered a racist bold enough to blow their delusions, letting them know which bucket they're actually sitting in. 

There is always a racist or closet racist looking for opportunities for regression--to strip away any measures that foster equality.  Some of these folk are being handed the power they need to accomplish this.

It's a mistake to become comfortable, believing we have overcome...we are yet overcoming.

Grow Folk Business

Ever had bills that had to be paid and there was not enough cash or savings to use to pay them?  

You have no cash and savings, but you do have a credit card. You pull it out of the sock drawer and use it to pay your bills (mortgage, rent, grocery, power, utilities, etc.).

Since you don't have enough cash to pay the credit card balance off every month, the balance grows. You eventually hit your credit limit and your financial situation hasn't changed, so you ask for an increase to your credit limit so you can continue to pay your bills. You get the increase, you continue to pay your bills...and your debt continues to grow.

That, my friend, is a very oversimplified explanation of the USA National debt and why the debt ceiling (the amount the government is allowed to borrow to pay its bills) is continuously raised.

If the USA defaults (doesn't pay its bills), there are grave economic consequences for the USA and economies around the world could be shaken.

Some folk don't really care about the global impacts of what the USA does, so let's focus on how it could impact home.

Here are a few impacts.

1. Social Security checks may not be cut. Some seniors are solely dependent upon those checks to live from month to month.

And NO, Social Security is not a handout. Seniors--and their employers--paid money into that fund over the years of their employment for their use when they became eligible.

2. Medicare benefits may not be paid. This is all the health insurance some seniors have.

3. Prices, interest rates, and inflation may skyrocket. 

4. The military may not be paid. They are vital to our national security.

5. Small businesses with federal loans could be at risk.

This is serious. 

The business of Congress is grown-up business that has far reaching impacts. Every seat needs to be filled with adults who act, behave, and think like responsible adults...capable adults.

It would be great if someone had a workable plan to tackle the National debt/debt ceiling issue. If so, they will be given a crown of economic greatness for the founders of this Nation didn't even have a solution.

By the time the USA became a nation, the National debt was already at about $75 million because of expenses related to the American Revolution and loans from France. It has continued to grow...

Children can't handle grown folk business.

 

Happiness is Personal

Happiness doesn't have to have a big price tag.

You can vacation all over the world, and your discontent, anger, resentment, disappointment, problems, etc., will be vacationing right along with you. 

What's sad is when the only reason you went on vacation was to be like the Joneses or to show Susie how good you're doing.

Why compare yourself to the Joneses in the first place? There may be some messed up stuff going on behind the Joneses smiles.

Susie? She may know more than you think she does and is pitying you or is disgusted because she knows you are fronting and will be borrowing to pay your bills when you return from your vacation, eat at an expensive restaurant, go on a shopping spree, etc.

Why not do what really makes you happy/content: A walk in the park, marathoning episodes of your favorite TV show, curling up with a good book, gardening, painting, strolling on the beach, cooking, eating your favorite foods, sitting quietly, etc.? None of these are big ticket items.

For instance, I love to learn about other cultures. I enjoy Korean dramas. Sometimes, I'll find a really good one and marathon the episodes. No bothers and headaches. Just my recliner, periodic fridge runs, quiet, and my show.  I'm happy/content.

I enjoy finding my family on Ancestry. I can spend an entire day researching and love every minute of it. The finds range from "that's amazing" to "they lived some messy lives". It's fascinating.

Don't allow folk to use what makes them happy/content as a yard stick to judge your happiness. They are not you and don't have the right.

Listen, forget about the Joneses and Susie doesn't care anyway. Find you and do you. 

  

Money: A Changed Perspective

It's amazing how age changes your perspective.

When I was young, getting a new car or house excited me. It gave me the, "See, I'm doing pretty good," feels.

You know how folk would prophesy in church that you'd get those things? They had to give me some space because those were dance moments! 😁

Now? A new car...the first word that pops into my head is DEBT.  A new house? A LOT of DEBT. 😁

A prophesy?  I want the particulars because I need clarification:

1. Will the items be at no cost?

2. If they are free, will I have to pay taxes on the gifts? 😁 

I won a nice item in the past and was contacted close to tax time with instructions on how to report the gift to the IRS when I filed. 😕So...I need to know. 

I'm not saying I'll never buy a new car or house again, but when I do, I'll go about it differently so I won't be burdened with heavy, unwieldy, and unnecessary debt. 

In my youth, I didn't really care about debt. I wanted what a wanted and got it...along with the chains of debt.

Now, I don't have to have the biggest or the best. All I need is satisfaction and comfort in my choice. That's a money saver right there.

I no longer find "bling" debt acceptable. Reasonable necessary debt is not wanted but it's tolerable.

Mixing up want and need will cause a drag on your wallet.  You have to keep them straight. BUT I don't care what anybody thinks, blue crabs 🦀 are a need, not a want. 😁

There are a lot of wealthy people around us, but you'd never know it. They don't "bling" nor do they front. They live quiet, fiscally responsible lives. Some of them got there one paycheck at a time.

In my youth, I admired folk who shouted their wealth by the clothes/jewelry they wore or things they purchased. Now, I respect and admire the discipline of the "quiet" wealthy.

I'll just throw this out there: Seeding/giving is awesome! BUT where you give is important for seeding into bad soil will give you no return. It took me a long time to really get that one.

If I only knew back then, what I know now...

We live and learn...or should.