Month: December 2014

10 Days Till Christmas

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One of the presents I received this year was four days in the dark.

light bulb

What looked like a light storm came through our city one evening, lasted about 30 minutes. Ripped up the place.

The power went out on my street and it didn’t come back on for four days. We had a tree land on our roof.

Those four days in the dark gave me time to think about the God I serve. I mean why on earth was He leaving me, His faithful servant in the dark and no electricity in the middle of a Texas summer? What purpose could this serve?

It was a chance to get to know HIm better without the distraction of daily routines.

I am currently reading Knowing God by J.I. Packer. One of the principles I have gleaned from this reading is “those who know God have great contentment in God.” This contentment happens no matter what. This year, He allowed me to see if I had that type of contentment no matter what. Some moments I was cool. Some moments I was “Okay, Lord, fix this now!”

Packer’s argument was once you truly knew God nothing could disrupt your peace. He said people who truly knew God lived differently. They have something that the world can’t explain.

I want to live out that kind of faith.

I

11 Days Til Christmas

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I have been fortunate enough this year to have moments of clarity. Moments where the Creator of the universe spoke to me through a situation and I learned something I was able to apply to my everyday life. Here is one from April:

Had a revelation as I was walking out of Target. A mother and her young son, about 3 or 4, were walking toward the door. She said “We are going to Target.” He was crying and yelling “No.” Even though he did not want to go, he was walking right beside her. He was steady crying, but stayed at her side.

Some days that is how my Christian walk is. God is taking me places and like the little kid, I am screaming and crying, but steady walking with Him. He promised He would never leave us or forsake us. He didn’t promise we would like everywhere He took us.

No matter how out of hand that child got at the Target, his mother didn’t leave him there. No matter how crazy my life gets, God doesn’t leave me there.

I am a visual learner, so I like it when He gives me visual lessons. He had drug me through some situations this year, but I could feel him tugging at me. He kept telling me, we are not going to stay here. (Amen!)

So wherever He is leading you, go. He is going with you.

12 Days Til Christmas

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Netflix! I have fallen in love with Netflix. It has almost become an obsession, except that I do watch “regular” TV on occasion. I enjoy watching an entire season of a show all together. I get a kick out of shows from Australia, Canada and the UK.  I even read subtitles for shows not delivered in English.

Call of Midwife

Call of Midwife

To date, my favorite has been Call of Midwife. Somebody needs to put Sister Monica Joan on a leash.  One of the funnies about this program, is how do you tell a story about someone’s life and they leave the story? Only on the telly. I enjoy seeing story of these midwives and the society they worked in. It introduced me to things I had never conceived.

Miss Fisher Murder Mystery

Miss Fisher Murder Mystery

Netflix has introduced me to Miss Fisher’s Murder Mystery, Copper, Murdoch Mystery, Paradise, Peaky Blinders (yes, I got a little carried away with historical period pieces). But I did find some good current age, like Alphas, Crossing Lines and Longmire.

Longmire

Longmire

I fell in love with Longmire on Netflix. “Happy Thankstaking.” Again, it gives me a perspective I have not always had available.

I remember I spent one day watching the entire season on Brookhaven. I was so wrapped up, I missed the Amazing Race that evening. I enjoy seeing how other people tell a story.

The other thing I like about Netflix is that it allows me to revisit those shows from my childhood. I waded through all 174 episodes of Emergency.  Did the same with Adam 12. (Can you tell I like cop and medical shows?)

I appreciate being able to experience television from other regions.

 

13 Days Til Christmas

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I have told you about my crew, but they deserve another mention. The Wrong Way Crew got together to celebrate Christmas. It is one of the momumental moments of my life. We had a great time.  There is always laughter, food and shenanigans with this crew.

Karen

Like sisters do, mine had to interrupt my selfie. The evening was young and payback was getting ready to cash the check she wrote.  The crew celebrated with some good mexican food and present exchange.  We had a great table back in the corner so we could hear what each other had to say. After lots of laughter, we went for a walk and took some pictures.

Family

This is payback for sticking her fingers in my selfie. I invited myself into her picture. Cause that is what sisters do.

WWC Crew

We are a picture taking crew.  But we are really cute, so it is all good. I won’t share the photos with Elvis Elf or our club pose by the red tree. (Someday one of these women might run for office) But know that we had great conversation, excellent food and more fun than many people ever have in their entire life.

14 Days Til Christmas

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I don’t go every year, but I do love the State Fair of Texas.  This year was a good year.

IMG_2803 (640x427)

I never went to the State Fair as a child, but as an adult I admit my favorite things were: cotton candy and candy apples.  I do remember the year I was leaving the fair, walking to my car and the candy apple fell off the stick onto the ground. I believe that was the sign for me to try new things.  As a result, my new love is the Cuban roll.

This year was good also because my sister and Hope got on one of the crazy ride. A picture says more than any words I can put together.

State Fair 1 WP_20141004_063

See, what did I tell you. God invented cellphones with cameras so that memories would last a bit longer.

This was an awesome adventure.

At Tex's feet

15 Days Til Christmas

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(I apologize for the lateness. I forgot to push the publish button, but it is 15 days til Christmas.)

One of the things I love is getting my hair done. It has been an awesome gift this year.   I only go a couple of times a year because that is about all I need, and it is always a blessed time. I always have a good time. I can not remember not having a good time.

Karen Hair

The woman who does my hair is younger than me, but she has been raised in an old school way. It is always “Yes, Ma’am” and “Ms. Karen.” If she is cooking, there is always an extra plate. If she is selling something like, make up or such, I am buying.

The best part is I get to watch TV shows I would have never thought about watching. I admit, I would have not know what a “real housewife” was until I saw it at her house. Not only do I get to see it, but she updates me on what is really happening.  She doesn’t hold them against the standard of society, but against God’s standard. I love that.

I get to walk through the generation gap with her. I get to listen to her opinion on love and life. She asks me what I think and allows me to pass on principles God has taught me.  It is a good time had by all.

Although our lives are very different, I see common paths through Christ work in both of us.

16 Days Til Christmas

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Another great moment from this year was the night we surprised my sister, which is a very difficult thing to do. She had received a promotion at work and some of her co workers organized the gathering at a local restaurant.

Surprise

I will never understand the science around trying to sneak 20+ people into a public place to surprise someone, but hey it worked for us. There is something about honoring people in our lives as they achieve incredible things. People should get a pat on the back for work done well.

friends

My sister is so funny in that she never caught on until they walked her to the table and we were all there waiting for her. I think that speaks to the caliber of friends you have. We have friends who like to celebrate life. We celebrate al the moments, great and small.

17 Days Til Christmas

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WP_20140323_006

the path I am on is not for the faint of heart

it is not for the ones who need hand holding

it is not for the ones who don’t believe

the path I am on was made for me

with the desire to laugh and eat

with the passion to feel

and the heart to do something

He made it just for me

He knew when I would get tired,

He knew the ones who would frustrate me

He would teach me to balance my temper and desire

this path He created just for me

I see it more clearly with each passing day

this year He lifted the veil a little higher

so I could see His glory shining through.

don’t try to walk my path

walk the one He made for you

so that you can see His glory too.

18 Days Til Christmas

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Sometimes a gift doesn’t look like a gift. One of the most fun gifts I received this year was my small small group. I lead a study of God’s word with about 6 ladies who crack me up. Do we ever stay on topic? No. Do we ever finish on time? No. Does God use us to bless each other? You better believe it.

I am surrounded by a group of social workers who deal with tragedy in other people’s lives everyday. It helps me keep things in perspective about my own life. It reminds me that there is much in life we take for granted, like a sound mind and a well body.

These ladies keep me honest (it does help that two of them are my sisters). God teaches me a lot through them.  I have been very fortunate to be born African American and female on this timeline in history. He has poured out such a gift of Himself on us. Not everyone in the group is African American, but His Spirit reigns in their lives also. There is a camaraderie with Christ that we are not ashamed of.

Small Group

19 Days Till Christmas

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One of the things I take for granted is the ability to attend church.  God blessed me with the ability to attend a church where His word is taught in spirit and truth.  It is not only a house with a great preacher, but a house filled with people who love Him. My many hours of service to the church have been spent with people who believe God is who He says He is. Iron sharpens iron.

OCBF

The Lord has used my time at OCBF to broaden who I am as a mother, daughter, sister and artist. This summer I got work with some really talented folk from my church. These folks are so special to me, I scheduled the last day of shooting my movie to be spent with actors from my church.  It was fun.

Pastor

I love sitting under the teaching of Dr. Tony Evans. My pastor is unashamed of the gospel because he understands the power it holds (salvation for the Jew and Gentile). His passion for the Lord is contagious.  He challenges my growth as Christian and strengthens my walk with the Savior.

I love this season in my life.