Eyes wide shut...

As I headed out the door for lunch on this unseasonable warm yet fall afternoon, I smelled the fresh fragrance of pine. I didn’t think anything unusual except maybe someone had just cleaned something, but as I walked closer to the door leading to the outside of my office, I see workers moving about. That’s when I noticed that these men had just put up our office Christmas tree. Just briefly, I thought, “So, that’s what’s different...it’s the tree,” but I moved about my business anyway.

The experience in my office lobby was quite different when I returned from lunch. I had an opportunity to really look at the massive tree that stood directly in front of me. It has to be 12 feet high. It’s beautifully decorated with lights and again the smell overwhelms the lobby area. I thought, “How could I have missed something so big and so beautiful” and began to wonder about my own life, thoughts and what is occupying my time. I also began to think about the number of times something so great is right before me, yet I miss the beauty of it because I am absorbed with self.

Overwhelmed by my inability to acknowledge something that stood so mightily, I decided to share my thoughts about this with a co-worker. She didn’t notice it either! So I ask…”have we become a walking community of people with eyes closed so tightly while we focus on our own business, that we can’t see what’s directly in front of us?” Her experience was further confirmation that we on a daily basis miss opportunities, blessings, second chances and maybe even love because we are walking with closed hearts, closed minds and closed eyes.

I’m not sure about you, but this experience was a lesson for me to always consider how I walk. I want to walk upright, Godly ~ appreciating all of His beauty. I do not want to be consumed with my own stuff, and my own thoughts….I may miss something. The reality is ~ there is something great within all of our reach, but we have to get out of our own darkness and be willing to open up our hearts, minds and eyes.

Enjoy the BEAUTY of this tree that I almost missed!

Alone Again....Naturally

It’s funny, that alone thing. Some see it as a nice retreat, away from the hustle and bustle or a comforting place where no one else can enter. Depending on how you view being alone, it can be therapeutic and a place to re-energize. Even Jesus left the people every now and then to get away and re-energize. But for some, being alone is a private hell. You’re left alone with your thoughts, your failures, what you’ve lost and all of the disappointments of life. For some, it’s torture, a cycle of confusion and sadly, a place that after time, brings a sick comfort because you’ve made being alone a routine and a habit. The simple but straight truth is that we are not meant to be alone. We’re built for relationships and for whatever the reasons are that one might feel more comfort in being alone most of the time than being in relationship means that one’s soul is crying. It means that your distorted view of what might feel natural is actually very unnatural. It also means that there is pain that is so deeply rooted that you’ve lost all connectivity to the one who can restore you.

Even in our most primal state (being an infant) one cannot survive without the love and touch from others. This is the way we are made. We all have an innate sense of needing to belong and relating to someone or something, but when we're alone, there is nothing but a false existence, hungry for relationship. Even still, with the hunger pangs so explosive and so desperate, some carry with them this sense of arrogance and pride that they simply do not need anyone or anything and that they can do it all by themselves. I’m here to say, no you can’t. Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. (Prov. 26:12, ESV) I’m here to say that pride and arrogance is one of the highest forms of sin because it deliberately blocks God and intentionally shuts Him out! Oh how that can bring about a wrath that no man can withstand.

I'm here to say that the fortress you've built is exactly where satan wants you to be. You see, he wants you to be alone. He wants you to live this life without your armor of God, and he's happy to convince you that you don't need people. He loves your fortress because he knows that you've blocked out all of the people who can help you tear it down...even God. The bible is clear when it says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” (Prov. 18:1, ESV). So I caution you, when you get hooked on satan's hook, some things will not be reversed. It will be your life-long existence.

Like isolation and insulation should never be a consolation...Alone again…Naturally, is not natural.

Partner Up!

Statement: You've got a problem with personal accountability.
Reply: Well, whose fault is that?

What is Accountability?
~ Accountability is a divine principle
~ Accountability is God’s protection of his children

What does Accountability do?
~ Develops within us a sense of responsibility
~ Promotes integrity
~ Guards us against turning our freedom into doing something wrong
~ Sharpens our skills
~ Promotes a healthy self-examination
~ Protects us from unwise relationships
~ Promotes a Godly attitude and Godly spirit

What is an Accountability Partner?
~ One who is walking in the spirit
~ One who is trustworthy with your confidence
~ One who has Godly wisdom based on spiritual principles
~ One who gives you the freedom to be yourself
~ One who has the courage to confront you
~ One must be forgiving toward you
~ One who is an encourager
~ One who is a good listener
~ One who is sensitive to your feelings
~ One who has your best interest at heart

Reasons people avoid being accountable:
~ Ignorant
~ Fear of exposure
~ Fear of rejection
~ Arrogant, pride and they feel self-sufficient
~ They know they are doing something wrong

Not knowing is one thing...knowing is another. Partner Up!

West Philly Woman

Street lights, row homes, hopscotch, West Philly…
Clothes lines, alley ways, barking dogs, West Philly…
Corner stores, big cars, jumping jacks, West Philly…
Barbeques, Motown, Marvin Gaye, West Philly…
Bobo’s, Ked's, Converse, West Philly…
Sewer holes, front porches, stray cats, West Philly…
Caring neighbors, lots of kids, Mister Softee, West Philly…
Mustard pretzels, Maryjane's, shoe strings, West Philly…
Scraped knees, dodge ball, water plugs, West Philly…
Paddy wagons, lightning bugs, house flies, West Philly...
Green Trolley’s, Septa busses, small streets, West Philly…
Born & raised, home grown, handpicked from West Philly…
Mad love, much respect, and Big Up’s for West Philly…

I AM~

I am NOTHING and I am EVERYTHING. You say, “How can one be NOTHING and at the same time be EVERYTHING?” Let me explain ~ I am Nothing without God and Everything with Him. Who are you?

What Will Your Legacy Represent?

Today, all of us are building a legacy and one day each of us will have our life story spoken of. We are all in a position to have some influence over how we have lived our lives and how we have added to the lives of others, so what do you represent...?

Do you represent a person who could be trusted or have you abandoned trust for rumors and gossip?

Do you represent someone who is filled with laughter or have you replaced laughter with pity-parties and your gloom and doom?

Do you represent someone who taught your children the meaning of Christ, love, integrity, character, honesty, and self-respect or did you only praise them for good grades and cleaning their rooms?

Do you represent someone who lives what they speak or are you someone who is just filled with meaningless words?

Do you stand for something of honor or do you blow in the direction of whatever sounds good for the moment?

Do you treat those given to you with love and respect, or have you used, abused, abandoned and taken them for granted?

Do you represent someone who continues to live with fear, guilt and shame or have you given yourself permission to forgive knowing Christ did long ago?

Do you represent someone who understands that freedom is a choice and every day that you live in shackles mean that you chose wrong?

Do you understand that people will look at the “fruit” you have produced and will conclude, "therein lies his legacy?"

Every day we make a choice and everyday one of them is wrong. Choose to leave a legacy that speaks to the person that God has created and grown you to be. It’s the only legacy that is worth leaving behind. Anything short of that is a legacy not worth mentioning.

It's too late...

There are so many missed opportunities and missed loves. We have spent so much time on the non-essentials in life versus focus on what is important, meaningful and long lasting. We chase the cars, the money, the homes, the vacations and the dreams that may never materialize all the while, losing family, friendships, and ourselves. We live with the hope that someone else’s success can be ours if we would just partner up with them instead of partnering up with God, praying, sacrificing and putting in a little sweat equity.

We become engrossed in the glitz and glam, fine dining and meaningless conversations. We have mastered the act of acting in order to hide our own inadequacies. At night you think, “I won, they like me and soon, I’m going to be one of them,” while really inside you know you will never be. You see, the difference between you and them is that they kept what was important first. They knew that compromising their relationship with our Master and the integrity of loved ones for a self-serving attitude never wins.

You look back on your life only to realize that you’ve been here before. Its familiarity is overwhelming and the stench burn your eyes. You have been thrown into a blinding realization that you have not advanced, have not grown and have missed opportunities and loves. The people you praised, worshipped and sweated don’t even know your name or return your calls. In fact, they run from you because your character is skewed, your choices are selfish and there is nothing about you that speaks to honesty.

Time did not stand still and everyone has moved on but you. You’ve got nothing to show for yourself and the fruit you have produced are covered with maggots. It is rotten to the very core. You never took a moment while you were on your chase to notice that you were responsible for your missed opportunities and loves.

Now, you are trying to resurrect the dead and give what was lost some life. You're trying to water it, nurture it and revive it. You have lost and you have missed the opportunity. It’s too late.