Words

October 9, 2015October 5, 2015Leave a comment

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11

Through the rest of October, I’ll be sharing posts from PRAISE!Magazine, which I published from 1996-2003. Here’s one of my favorites, simply titled Words, featured in the Vol. 6, No. 1, Spring 2001 edition.

“I like words. I like writing them in letters, reading them in books, listening to them in songs, and speaking them when they ring true from the heart. I like to cut them out of magazines and tape them to the front of my notebook to make a collage. I like the power they have to change minds, excite souls, and heal wounded hearts. I like how they’ve shaped who I am. I like that I can choose which words to speak before I speak them. I like how they sound in a prayer…

“I like the look of blank sheet of ivory-colored note paper, or of a new journal – places waiting to be filled with all sorts of thoughts and dreams and ideas. I like opening up a card to find words of gratitude or encouragement, Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas. I like love notes…

“I think I have some type of divine purpose in words. In kindergarten, when it was time to paint and draw pictures, I opted to paint my ABCs. Wasn’t really much of an artist, so I stuck with what I knew. At Grandma’s house during the summer, I somehow always found my way to a cookbook, a magazine, or the Bible, and with pencil in hand, I’d copy onto paper whatever was there in front of me – a verse, recipe, something. Today, Barnes & Noble bookstore might as well be Heaven.

“The right words can build and strengthen and spread love. They can offer forgiveness, restore a broken relationship, or give you that amount of uumph you need to go another mile. The right words will speak truth, and the wrong words will hide it. The right words bring peace; the wrong ones destroy it.

“There are words which make me laugh, and some that make me cry. Some words kill, while others bring life. There are times when I should have said yes, but instead said no. There are times when I knew to say no, but instead said yes.

“And then there are times when silence is sacred – when books must be closed, pens put down, mouths shut. Here is where the greatest of all words are spoken, by One who needed only say, ‘Let there be,’ and there was. You only need a listening ear and an open heart to hear the words that will change your life forever.

“Hide His words in your heart.”

How have words shaped your life?

At time of publication: “PRAISE!Magazine” is a trademark registered by the State of North Carolina, Department of the Secretary of State. ISSN 1520-4057. Copyright 2001 by ML Tate.

Guest Post: A Tireless Heart

September 25, 2015September 20, 2015Leave a comment

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19: 10 KJV

Today’s guest post is the last in the series featuring fellow bloggers I met at the Proverbs 31 She Speaks conference. Erin Blake is another woman of faith whom I’ve come to admire through her inspirational posts on her blog tiethatbinds.org. I’m sure you will be able to relate to her post, “A Tireless Heart.” I appreciate her openness in sharing this experience…

Numerous times a day I travel a monotonous path from my home to wherever it is we need to be. Without having to think, I know when to swerve to avoid nasty potholes, where policemen sit in wait, and parts of the neighborhood where dogs are more likely to dart out. One afternoon something caught my eye – something looked oddly out of place. There was a man holding a cardboard sign with words written in black marker, standing in the shoulder lane of MY road.

“Hold on there, this is way too close to MY home. Someone (like a policeman) needs to tell this guy to move on down the road, to a different neighborhood.

“This man is smoking a cigarette, where does he get his money to keep up that habit?”

Days went by, and this gentleman became a fixture on my route. My thoughts morphed into, “I just don’t have any singles or cash in the car. Do I really want him coming over to the car while my children are with me?”

One afternoon Lysa TerKeurst’s words came to the forefront of my mind. Her recent bible study I was participating in discussed the story of Zacchaeus. His story is found in Luke 19. Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax collector who jostled along in the crowd to catch a glimpse of Jesus as he traveled through Jericho. Being short in stature, Zacchaeus was unable to see over the crowd. Zacchaeus found a sycamore tree to climb for a better view. As Jesus passed under him, He called out to Zacchaeus, “Zacchaeus, hurry, come down, for today I must stay at your house.” Lysa’s words chimed in my head focusing on that walk to Zacchaeus’s home: Zacchaeus and Jesus side by side heading home. Lysa’s focus on this well-known Bible story was on the many people in need they passed to arrive at the large sprawling home of the wealthy tax collector?

Surely Jesus would notice the man holding his sign on the shoulder of my road if He came home with me. Even more upsetting is He would notice how I drive by daily, a heart filled with excuses.

Later that day I rushed to the grocery store purchasing items I placed in a bag. Carefully I pulled into the gas station where the man stood near. Placing the bag at his feet I said, “These are for you.”

I hopped back into my car about to pat myself on the back for my Christian duty. Tap tap tap on my passenger window. When I found the corresponding button to roll the passenger window down, a young lady was standing there, wearing a look of disgust. “Just so ya know that man has a moped, credit card and bank card. He has no business standing out there.” I said a quick thank you and drove off feeling like an idiot.

Should I have not done that? Was God not urging me to help this man with a simple bag of groceries? Should I have held onto my vicious remarks and excuses?

The following morning I glanced at my phone after a beckoning “ding!” YouVersion sent out the daily Bible verse.

Galatians 6:9: Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

This verse spoke volumes to my questioning heart. I realized I have certainly grown weary especially in doing good. My life has quite a few implications of the cynical outlook mirrored in the young lady’s comments.

However, my weariness and cynicism have not a thing to do with God’s plan. Helping and serving others should be my FIRST response. What a person decides to do with help I offer in their own world is not a concern of mine. These concerns I hold onto are making me weary and losing heart.

Doing good is not about me, the way I feel about it or my opinion of others. Doing good is simply showing God’s love for others. I want to enjoy “having Jesus to visit my home,” inhabit my life. I don’t want to be tangled up in my excuses not focused on sharing God’s love.

I have not seen the man standing on the shoulder of the road since that day. Temperatures have been dropping. I pray he has a home to go to.

Thank you Lord for using my everyday drives to slow me down and examine my heart. Please soften the heart of the young lady at the gas station. I pray for my own heart to be tireless in serving only You.

Have you grown weary? Take heart and be tireless in serving only Him.

Erin Blake resides in beautiful, coastal North Carolina. After growing up in New Jersey, she made her escape to the South attending college, returning North for only short bursts. Twenty years later, Erin is married to her best friend Buddy, so aptly named. They have three gorgeous, intelligent, remarkable daughters, keeping consistent chaos running through their lives. Erin enjoys sharing her life, her love for Christ and the way God shows up in her everyday. Check out her blog at tiethatbinds.org.

Guest Post: “Me? A Snooty Church Lady?”

September 18, 2015September 5, 20155 Comments

For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 1 Samuel‬ ‭16:7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I’m happy to introduce you to Hope Venetta, woman of faith and blogger who shares her journey through her posts at hopevenetta.com. I “met” Hope via social media and COMPEL, then had the pleasure of connecting with her in person at the She Speaks 2015 Conference in July. She has a beautiful spirit, and her words are very life-touching, I’ve found, particularly as they relate to ministry. I’m glad to feature one of her posts as part of the New Day September series on the highlights of She Speaks….

Me? A Snooty Church Lady?

Have you ever been humbled by how God chose to show you your sin and bless you at the same time? One Sunday after church, my husband Tom and I debated whether it fit into our budget to go out for lunch or cook at home. We are trying to save money and pay down some debt. Clearly going out for lunch doesn’t exactly fit with that plan, so after going round and round about being disciplined, and saving, and Dave Ramsey, we somehow ended up at a sandwich shop. As it turned out, we were in exactly the right place for a divine appointment.

When Tom placed his order, a tough looking woman standing behind me in line tapped me on the arm. As I turned towards her, she offered me a slip of paper. Now I usually don’t take things from random strangers, but I felt a prompting to accept it from her. I was fully expecting it to be an advertisement for a local business, some kind of donation request, or information about an event at a nightclub. It was none of those. It was a coupon for a free sandwich. When I realized what it was, my every intention was to hand it back to her. People in my city can be very neighborly, but I didn’t want to accept this random act of kindness from her. Not her. Not this woman who looked and sounded like a cast member of Orange is the New Black. I took a breath, ready to tell her why I couldn’t accept the coupon, and for some reason I couldn’t speak. Her face that looked as if she had indeed seen rough times, also looked so pleased to have been of service. I couldn’t take that away from her by refusing her kind gesture.

As I ordered my sandwich, something rose in my spirit. Something in me wanted to reach out. I wanted to engage her, to start a dialog, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t seem to get over myself and find common ground with her. Dressed in a hoodie and jeans, with thick cornrows in her hair, I am ashamed to admit that I judged this woman by her dress and demeanor. As I listened to her conversation behind me, I actually had the audacity to think I was better than her because of my cute church outfit, my knowledge of correct grammar usage, and my own perception that my rank was above her in the socioeconomic strata. To me she looked like and sounded like a thuggish woman who was straight out of the cast of Orange is the New Black. Yet, God was using her to meet a financial need of mine by covering an unplanned frivolous expense. Because of my pride and snooty attitude, I could scarcely look her in the eye as I thanked her. I actually thanked her several times, and not once could I make an eye to eye connection. So much judgement in my heart. Even though I was the one being helped.

Tom and I left the sandwich shop and went to a park to eat our lunch. Before we said grace over our meal, we looked at each other across the picnic table and marveled at how God is proving himself be our provider. Yes, this time it was only the cost of a sandwich, but that is beside the point. It seemed like a gentle reminder from God that He is who He says he is and that He does not change. That He is a provider. That He is not a respecter of persons. That His blessings come in unexpected packages – even in the form of thuggish looking women who look and sound like they just got out of prison.

It is clear that I have more work to do to overcome pride and a judgmental spirit. I thank God for the opportunity to grow and become the woman He created me to be. I am also thankful that He is teaching me what a blessing it can be to allow others to express their gifts. By me accepting that coupon, it allowed the other woman to experience generosity. Despite my preoccupation with my own mental baggage, I did notice that she had a look of self-respect and the good kind of pride, knowing that she was helping someone. I could not let my self-importance take that away from her by rejecting her offering. Who knows, perhaps that was her sacrifice to God. Her giving of herself with no expectation of a return. God is amazing and can use all kinds of circumstances to accomplish His purposes.

He is so great, and I am so blessed that He loves me and has adopted me into His family, flaws and all.

How about you? Have your blessings come in unexpected packages?

Hope is a follower of Christ, wife to Tom, fledgling gardener, and all-around, wannabe, domestic diva. She blogs about living an authentic, Christ-centered life at www.hopevenetta.com. (Photo credit: Melchee Johnson)